Jana's Johto Journey
by kamikaze2007
Summary: Join a young trainer on her grand journey to conquer the Pokémon League and become the Champion of Johto! Challenging trials and powerful enemies await, but they're about to wish they never messed with the strongest trainer this side of Pallet Town.
1. The Not-So-Humble Beginnings

**Hello there! What you're about to read is the start of a the fic that I spent all of November and most of the next three months writing. The central character of this fic is very near and dear to my heart, because she has existed in my mind for years and I only recently got around to writing her down. I do hope you enjoy the fic and don't be too thrown off by the rival's name. He is Silver for all intents and purposes, I just decided to go with a more normal name.**

**I should also mention that I do have this posted on here and Archive of Our Own. The version posted there will be the best version to read, as it will have supplementary doodles at certain points. They don't add much, but they are part of the story and it's a shame you can't put pictures on fics on this website. Anyway, there's a link to my AO3 account on my profile, so maybe give this fic a shot over there!**

**If you don't, that's fine. I can't tell you what to do.**

* * *

Unlike Pallet Town, which churned out one extremely talented trainer after another, New Bark didn't see much in the way of new trainers. The only time New Bark saw anyone new was the occasional person moving in or the experienced trainers looking to navigate the watery path that separated the cozy little town from the Indigo Plateau. One such trainer happened to stay for a few days before his historic venture into the Pokémon League, and what happened while one Lance "The Dragon Master" stayed was glorious. It's a story of love, loss, betrayal, and the frailty of man and his ego.

This is not that story.

Seriously, fuck that guy.

This is the story of a young girl who was born in New Bark Town nine months later and, seventeen years after that, would leave her home town to become one of the greatest trainers Johto has ever seen.

Her journey started the morning she was greeted by her smiling mother and a shiny new PokéGear. "Thanks, mom," she said as she hung the device around her neck and booted it up. "Everything seems fine. It even saved my radio presets, so that's sweet!"

"I'm glad you're happy with it, sweetie," her mom replied. "By the way, that blue is coming in very nicely."

The girl's hand shot up to her hair and started fussing with it. "What, really?" She asked as she twirled a strand around her pointer finger. "Thanks!" The girl and her mother exchanged a smile and a hug and she turned to go back to her room before being stopped.

"Oh right, I almost forgot. Professor Elm wants you to see him in his lab as soon as possible."

She stopped in her tracks and looked at her mother in wonder. "Does he really?"

"Now, don't get your hopes too far up, but yes, Elm wants to talk to you about something. That's all he told me." The mother raised her hands in the air, waving away the barrage of questions she would no doubt had faced had she not specified that she already conveyed all she knew. Her daughter jumped for joy, gave her a quick hug and bolted out the door before anything else could be said.

The teenager ran for the biggest building in New Bark, debating internally which Pokémon she was going to catch for her big Johto journey. She was stopped when she heard someone stumbling in the bushes by the side of the building and, despite her eagerness, made a detour to investigate.

She parted the bushes to find a red-headed boy about her age peering into a window on the side of the lab. "Hey, what're you doing, you weirdo?" She asked. Her question was received with a harsh shush. "You do know the lab's open to the public, right? You don't need to spy or nothing."

"Shut up and leave me alone," the boy replied.

She crossed her arms indignantly and approached him. "Don't you sass me, mister. If I see you snooping around here again, I'll kick your ass for that."

"Whatever. Fuck off."

She glared at him threateningly before leaving to see what Professor Elm wanted.

When she arrived, the scrawny man smiled brightly at her. "Ah yes, you're just who I wanted to see!"

"You bet your ass I am, professor. Now what is it you need?"

"I need you to run an errand for me," Elm explained.

The girl's expression became one of confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Yes. You see, my colleague, Mr. Pokémon, recently emailed me about an astounding find he just made, and he really wants to show me, but I'm just so busy that I can't leave the lab long enough to get to his house."

"Okay, I have so many things to say about that sentence," the girl said. "First, what the hell kind of a name is Mr. Pokémon?"

"It's a pseudonym, first of all, and second—"

"It's dumb, first of all. Secondly, who still uses email?"

"What are you sayi—"

"And how far away could his house be if you can't get there in like, five minutes?"

Starting to get frustrated by this teenager's lip, Elm sighed. "It's just past Cherrygrove, alright?"

"Ah, that makes sense. But wait, there's wild Pokémon on that route. I can't go there."

"And that's where this comes into play." Elm motioned toward a table where three Pokéballs sat. "In exchange for doing this for me, I'm going to give you your very own Pokémon!"

The girl gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Elm asked rhetorically. "What you do with it after the fact is up to you, all I ask is that you run this one errand for me."

"You've got it!" The girl exclaimed.

"Now, I'm going to let these Pokémon out of their balls and let you choose which one you wa—"

"I want Totodile," the girl interrupted.

"What?"

"I know the three that are in there. Chikorita's cute and grass-type, Cyndaquil is cuter and fire-type, but I want Totodile," she explained.

Professor Elm shrugged. "Alright." He grabbed a ball and gingerly placed it in her hands. "This Totodile is all yours."

"Awesome." The girl said. "You won't regret this, Professor! I'll be back in the blink of your nerdy-ass eye with that discovery." With that, she turned and bolted out of the lab with a triumphant grin plastered on her face.

Elm put his finger on the bridge of his glasses and pushed them up. "My eyes aren't nerdy..."

Outside, a Totodile emerged from its home and blinked in the sudden light. It looked up at its new trainer with a confused expression.

"Hello Totodile," she greeted. "I'm your new master, and together, we're gonna kick some ass. Got it?" She picked up the water-type and cradled it in her arms. "After we go get that thing for Elm, we're gonna travel this entire continent, kick some gym leader's asses, become the champion, and basically be superheroes to those that have been wronged. I'm going to be the world's best crime-fighting champion and soon, everyone in Johto will know my name!

"It's Jana time, bitches."

* * *

The short trip to Mr. Pokémon's house was uneventful (unless you were a Rattata that got in Jana's way) and in one short hour, Jana found herself on this eccentric genius' doorstep, wondering why he couldn't get off his ass and deliver it himself. Something she made sure to point out when he opened the door and greeted her as "that girl Elm sent." In response to her rude comment, the old man chortled and gestured inside. "You see, I have company, so I felt it would be rude to leave my guest all on his lonesome for so long. Come in and maybe you can meet him."

Jana crossed her arms and shook her head. "No thank you. I'd really rather not be shown your weird sex torture dungeon and your gross friends who get off on that."

Mr. Pokémon's smile faded and he blinked, processing what this girl had just said. "Excuse me?"

Jana cracked a smile at him. "I'm just messing with you. Seriously though, I'm just here for that whatever-it-is and then I'll be out of what's left of your hair."

"Are you sure?" The man asked. "The person who's visiting is actually somewhat of a celebrity around these parts, so I figured you'd be interested in meeting him."

Jana eyed him suspiciously. "Hold on. A celebrity as in a famous person or a celebrity in this weird community of old, bearded white dudes?"

A voice inside the house laughed. "Am I allowed to say both?" He asked. The somewhat shrill voice giving away the speaker's old age relaxed Jana somewhat, and a second old man appeared in the doorway beside Mr. Pokémon.

"Anyway, I'll go get that discovery. Oak, can you please entertain the new trainer while I fetch it?"

"Sure thing," the second old man assured him. After Mr. Pokémon disappeared into his house, Professor Oak extended his hand to Jana. "Hello, I am Professor Oak. And you are?"

Jana took his hand and shook it. "I'm Jana. What's with all the tree names?"

Oak laughed in response. "You are a snarky one, aren't you? Anyway, I can tell this is your first adventure with Pokémon, am I correct?"

"Is it that obvious?" Jana asked, shrinking back slightly.

"Do not worry about it, Jana," Oak assured her. "I can only tell because your clothes are clean. While your clothes say green-bean, your eyes say Champion in the making."

Jana smirked. "Really now?"

Oak nodded confidently. "Oh yes. The last time I said that was to my grandson and his best friend, and one of them did end up becoming the Champion, so I do know talent when I see it."

Suddenly, Jana realized who she was talking to. "Wait, are you saying Gary Oak is your grandson? The three-year Champ is related to you?"

Now was Oak's turn to be smug. "You bet! He sure has come a long way since he was in diapers."

"Wow..." Jana said. "You really think I could amount to him?"

"Absolutely!" Oak said. "In fact, I might have a present for you if you come inside."

Completely forgetting her rude, dirty remarks from earlier, Jana jumped at the opportunity to receive a gift from _the_ Gary Oak's grandfather and went into Mr. Pokémon's house without protest. Before Oak could grab his present, Mr. Pokémon emerged from a back room holding a large orb in his hand. Ignoring the fact that Jana was inside now, the professor approached her. "Jana, this was given to me by good friends of mine who run a Pokémon day care. They believe this may be a Pokémon egg, but judging by the markings on the egg, it's no species I've ever seen before. I want you to take this to Professor Elm, for he may be able to figure out which Pokémon it is." He handed the egg to Jana and she examined it. It was slightly larger than her palm and was vanilla colored with red and blue rings decorating it.

"Uh, huh...So you want Elm to figure out which two Pokémon fu—"

"In less crude words, yes." Mr. Pokémon interrupted.

Displeased with being interrupted, Jana gently placed the egg in her backpack and nodded. "Fine, I'll take it back to the old man. Now what's Professor Oak's present for me?"

Oak nodded and re-entered the conversation. "You seem to me to be a dependable young woman, so I am going to ask you to run an errand for me."

Jana rolled her eyes. "Another errand? How many of these damn fetch quests am I gonna have to do?"

Oak shook his head. "No, dear. This is a special errand that will take you around the world." He produced a small red booklet from his pocket. "This is the Pokédex." The booklet opened and a blue light on it started flashing. "It will record data on any Pokémon you encounter and transmit that data to my database. I want you to meet as many Pokémon as you can so my Pokédex can be as complete as it can be."

Jana took the device and stared at it. "Okay, and?"

"Well, completing the Pokédex will surely take you around the world, and maybe even to the Indigo Plateau if you prove that you are skilled enough." Professor Oak winked at her as he said the name of the place the Pokémon League was located and she caught his drift. He was giving her an excuse to travel the region, beat the gym leaders, and become the Champion he told her she could be.

Her eyes lit up and she smiled widely. "Thank you so much, Professor! I'll be sure to get right on that!"

"Remember to take that egg to Professor Elm first," Mr. Pokémon reminded her as she turned to leave.

"Yeah yeah, I got it." Jana left the small house and started walking home, excited to start her adventure for real. Suddenly, her PokéGear hanging from her neck started ringing and startled her. She answered it with a somewhat annoyed "hello?"

Professor Elm's voice sounded form the other side, frantic and breathless. "Jana! Oh god, this is terrible. We need you back at the lab _ASAP!_"

"What happened?" Jana asked. The professor's frantic voice was enough to distract her from the fact that he actually said ASAP as one word.

"No time to explain, just get back here now!" Elm abruptly hung up and Jana ran as fast as she could for New Bark, fearing the worst. She was stopped just outside Cherrygrove when she bumped into that red-headed boy she met outside the lab earlier. He looked like he was in a hurry and a panicked look was in his eyes.

"Hey, you're the boy from outside the lab," Jana said. "Can you tell me what happened back there?"

The boy frowned at her. "You got a Pokémon from that lab, didn't you?"

"Don't change the subject," Jana replied.

The boy scoffed. "What a waste. A Pokémon for a wimp like you? I deserve one much more than you did, and I'll prove it!" He whipped a Pokéball from his pocket and tossed it to the ground, where it opened to unleash a small, Pokémon with blue-ish fur on the top half of its body and milky fur on the underside.

"Oh, my first trainer battle," Jana said. "I'll take your challenge _and_ prove I'm not a wimp. Go, Totodile!" She threw her own Pokéball and Totodile sprang out, already all warmed up from beating up multiple poor, defenseless rattata.

"Cyndaquil, tackle it," the boy commanded. Totodile's opponent let out a cry and charged at it.

"Scratch!" Jana yelled. Totodile jumped out of Cyndaquil's way and swiped at it with its claws. Cyndaquil stumbled back in pain and Jana smirked. "Now use Water Gun!" Totodile unleashed a torrent of water from its mouth and doused the other Pokémon in water.

Cyndaquil stumbled back, struggling to stand up. "How does your Pokémon know an non-normal-type move already?" The boy demanded.

"We trained against wild Pokémon, smart one," Jana replied.

The boy glared at her. "That's not fair. Of course you're going to win if you have prior experience. He held out his Pokéball. "Come back, Cyndaquil." His monster disappeared inside its ball and he marched towards Jana. He shoved her down and continued through Cherrygrove.

"Excuse you," Jana yelled. "I'll get you for that." Jana scrambled to her feet and grabbed the boy's shoulder. She turned him around and socked him in the face. The boy stumbled back a few steps before falling on his ass.

"Ouch, that's not fair either," he complained.

"You shoved me first, bitch."

"Whatever," the boy scoffed once more before standing up and running away. Jana looked down to see a card on the ground where he was just sitting. She bent down and picked it up. It was his Trainer ID card. She could only make out his face and his first name before he came running back and snatched the card from her hand. He wordlessly ran off before Jana could say anything, leaving her and Totodile to exchange confused looks.

When Jana arrived at the lab a few minutes later, she found a police officer asking Professor Elm questions just next to a shattered window. Totodile, who hadn't been put in its Pokéball yet, let out a worried noise at the commotion. Hearing the sounds of a Pokémon, the officer turned around and glared at Jana. "You stop right there," he commanded. "Is this the perp, professor?"

Professor Elm shook his head. "No, I gave Jana one of my Pokémon. She's not the thief."

"Thief?" Jana asked. "What's going on?"

"It's terrible," Elm replied. "A boy broke into the lab and stole one of my Pokémon. Now Cyndaquil's missing and I have no idea where he could have gone."

Jana gasped. "Cyndaquil? Professor, what did the boy who stole it look like?"

"Well, he had red hair...and he looked to be about your age an—"

"I fought him on my way back!" Jana said. "He battled me with that very Cyndaquil and cried when I kicked his ass."

"Did he really cry?" Elm asked, bewildered.

"Well no, I made that part up, but I did kick his ass."

"What else can you tell us about him?" The police officer asked.

"Well, when he ran off, he dropped his ID and I read his name, but that's all I could tell you," Jana answered.

"Anything helps," the officer replied. "What was it?"

"Nicholas," Jana said. "His name is Nicholas."

The officer scribbled the name in his notepad and nodded. "Well, that's all I can do for you now. I'll issue an order for the next three towns to keep an eye out for this red-haired Nicholas kid. Have a nice day."

Professor Elm sighed. "Yeah, you too," he said weakly as the officer walked away.

Jana clenched her fists. "I can't believe someone would do something like that! I'm sorry, Professor. If I had known, I would have dragged his ass back here and made him give Cyndaquil back."

"There's nothing you can do now," Professor Elm said sadly.

Jana bit her lip. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Anyway," Professor Elm tried to collect himself. "What did Mr. Pokémon have to show me?"

"Right! Oh man, I hope I didn't break it when he pushed me." Jana swung her backpack off and rummaged through it. She pulled out one intact egg and handed it to the professor. "It's an egg."

Elm grabbed the egg and examined it. "Hm, it sure seems to be. I wonder what it could be..."

"That's kind of what he wanted you to find out," Jana explained.

"Oh...well we'll figure it out." Professor Elm gingerly placed the egg on a table and shook his head. "So much to do, so much to do."

"Anyway, guess what happened while I was there?" Jana said, eager to change to a happier subject.

"What?"

"Professor Oak was there! And he gave me a Pokédex, check it out!" Jana grabbed the device form her backpack and showed it off to Elm, who gasped.

"Professor Oak did _what_? Th-that's incredible! He is superb at seeing the potential of people as trainers, and he only gives those out to those he thinks could become Champion. So he really thinks you have what it takes, huh?"

"He sure does," Jana said proudly.

Elm laughed. "Well then, I think you should definitely make him proud and take on the gym challenge. You can take Totodile there with you, if you wish."

"Wow, really? Thanks professor!" Jana clapped and Totodile did a celebratory dance.

"Now you take good care of my Totodile, alright?" Elm asked. "I don't want her to end up getting hurt."

"Hey, if I'm really as good as Oak says I am, do you really think you need to worry about it?" Jana asked. "Totodile will rule this region with an iron claw, just you wait and see."

Professor Elm laughed. "That's what I was hoping you'd say. Now, good luck on your journey. It will be long and difficult, so you should probably say goodbye to your mother before you leave."

Jana's smile faded slightly. "Yeah, I guess I should."

Moments later, Jana entered her house to find her mother watching some soap opera on TV. At the sight of her daughter, she turned the TV off and stood to welcome her home by taking her into a hug. "So what was that errand all about?" She asked.

"Let me show you." Jana let out Totodile, who greeted her mom with a happy sound and a playful hop.

"Wow, really? He finally gave you your very own Pokémon?"

"Yep!" Jana confirmed.

"So I guess that means you'll be going off on your journey too, then?"

"Also yeah," Jana said.

Her mom nodded. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

Jana smiled slightly. "Well, no. But I will come back to visit, promise! And I'll call you every, uh, let's go with every couple of days, because I forget sometimes."

Her mom laughed and took her into a hug. "Just do whatever you want to do, alright?"

Jana wrapped her arms around her mom and nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that."

"Now before you go, you have to promise me something." Jana was released from the hug so her mom could look her in the eyes. "If you make it far enough, which god knows you will, don't get too angry at him, alright?"

Jana rolled her eyes. "I'll try."

"I mean it, Jana. Everyone has their reasons for what they do, so try to understand first and get angry later, alright?"

Jana nodded. "Alright mom, I'll try."

"There's my good girl." Her mom smiled and pulled her back into the hug. "Good luck."

* * *

Jana's journey first took her to the Dark Cave. On the first night of her quest, a little while after Cherrygrove City, and just a bit after fighting her first real trainer battles, Jana encountered someone huddled in fear in front of the cave's entrance. The sun was going down quickly, so her instincts told her to hurry to Violet and get inside before it got too dark. However, the girl outside the cave looked so distressed, she had to check on her to see what was wrong. When asked, the girl looked up at her and sniffled. "There's a monster in there."

"Oh really?" Jana asked. "I mean, we kind of live in a world of them, what with them being called pocket monsters and all."

The girl shook her head. "No, a monster as in a ghost!"

"A ghost-type Pokémon?"

The girl shook her head again. "No, an actual, evil ghost!"

"Oh really?" Jana asked in disbelief.

"My friends told me that if I listen carefully to the sound of the cave, I can hear a high-pitched, maniacal laughter from deep inside the cave. Well, I went in there just now and the laughter was right in front of me! It was so scary..."

"Did you see what made the noise?" Jana asked.

"No, it was too dark," the girl replied.

"Too dark in Dark Cave, go figure," Jana said. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go check out what made that noise and kick its ass for you okay?"

"Really?" The girl asked with a sniffle.

"Absolutely. It's not nice to scare someone like that, so I'm gonna teach whatever it is a lesson." Without another word, Jana marched into the cave and stopped in her tracks when she realized she just marched into a cave without a light source in hand. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a flashlight. She clicked it on and looked around the entrance to the cave. "Why does nobody ever think to bring flashlights with them?" She asked herself. After a couple moments of standing still and listening to the ambient noises of the cave, she shrugged. "I don't hear anything. Maybe that girl was overreacting." Suddenly, a blue Pokémon flew right by her head, startling her into dropping the flashlight. She scrambled to pick it up and aimed it at the bat-like creature, which was already well on its way. "Oh, it's just a Zubat. Hey, maybe I could use one of you." She continued into the cave, her new mission set: to find and catch a Zubat for her team. The second Zubat she found was challenged to a battle with Totodile. Once Zubat had been weakened enough, Jana prepared to throw a Pokéball, but before she could do so, she was scared into dropping it by an ear-piercing screech.

"What the fuck was that?" Jana yelled. "Who's there?" A strange figure leapt from the shadows and rushed to the injured Zubat's side.

"Don't you dare take my Flappy away from me!" The person screamed as they scooped up the Zubat in their arms and coddled it. The person turned around to reveal a strange girl looking to be just a bit older than Jana with ragged hair, wild eyes, and torn clothing. The girl looked like she hadn't showered in years.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jana asked.

The girl thought for a moment. "You know, I dunno. I think I forgot my name at some point. Living in Dark Cave, you don't really need a name."

"You live here?" Jana asked. "For how long?"

The girl shrugged. "Years, I think."

"Uh, huh..." Jana said, backing away. "So that Zubat is yours?"

"All the Zubat here are my friends," the girl explained. "I don't catch any of them, but they are all my friends. This one's Flappy."

"I see," Jana said. "You do know people can still catch these Zubat, right? If you haven't caught them?"

"I know, and I cry every time someone takes one away from me."

Jana raised her eyebrow. She couldn't believe this conversation was taking place. "So can I catch a different Zubat, then?"

"No!" The girl yelled. "No taking my Zubat friends away from me!" After she said this, another Zubat flew by her and circled her a few times. "Hi there friend!" She said excitedly. "This one's named Flappy."

"They're, uh, all named Flappy, aren't they?" Jana asked. After she got a nod she turned around. "Welp. I'm out of here. There's no helping you. See you never, hopefully."

"Who needs ya, anyway?" The girl yelled as she bounded off into the deeper parts of the cave.

Jana came out of the cave to find the little girl still sitting in the same spot she left her. "So did you find it?" She asked.

"Yeah," Jana said. "It's literally a crazy person. Just keep your distance from Dark Cave and the Zubats, okay?" Confused, the girl simply nodded. "Good, now let's get you home. Where do you live?"

"Violet City," the girl answered.

"Good, 'cuz that's where I need to be. Let's go!"

* * *

END OF DAY 2:

"Dear Journal,

"My mom told me to keep a diary of sorts to chronicle the priceless memories I make over the course of my Journey, so I guess I'll be doing that. Except you'll be a Journal, not a diary. Because diary sounds childish and also Journal starts with a J, so I can call you Jana's Johto Journey Journal. Anyway, The first day of my travels was huge! I got to meet Totodile, run an errand for Elm, punch a snob in the face, and finally start my Journey as a Pokémon trainer! It was also really weird though. There's this psychopath in the Dark Cave that calls all the Zubats Flappy and cries when they get caught. I was gonna get one for my team, but I decided it would be best not to have to put up with that bullshit. It was weird.

"Anyway, the second day wasn't much, it was all spent in Violet City. I didn't wanna spend a whole day in this dump of a 'city,' but I didn't have much of a choice. The Gym Leader (who I'll get into later,) told me I had to get through the Sprout Tower before I could get a badge from him. It sucked because the whole place was full of grass-type Bellsprouts. They're strong against Totodile, so she had a really hard time. It made me wish I had gotten that Zubat back there.

"Then the gym leader was a piece of work himself. He spent the whole time going on and on about how electric-types make him angry because they're good against birds and he threw a hissy fit when I beat his dad's 'cherished' Pokémon. They weren't that good, so I don't get why they were so important to him. But hey, I didn't say anything because when you've got a haircut like that, you know your life has gone wrong.

"Anyway, tomorrow I set out for Union Cave and Azalea Town. Wish me (and my art skills) luck, Journal!

"Hm, I should probably mention I'll be doodling in you a lot. Don't mind that.

"Okay, _now_ wish me luck!"

* * *

**Before you question it, I know Nicholas picked the Pokémon that has a type disadvantage against our dear protagonist, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to make the guy obsessed with powerful Pokémon pick the adorable Chikorita over Cyndaquil. Truthfully, Totodile would have been his first choice, but somebody beat him to that. **

**Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed this first chapter! If you liked it, lemme know! If you're not sure yet, stick around a little longer! If you didn't, I appreciate that you at least gave it a shot.**


	2. Itchy Azalea

**Hey welcome back to another week of Jana! The story's off to a bit of a slow start, but most games start the same way so don't let that put you off. It gets more exciting as it goes! I realize that last chapter, I was super sparce on the details, so for future reference, Jana's design is heavily influenced by that of Kris, the player character in Crystal. There's also a handy new story cover now, so I hope you enjoy that! Without further ado, it's time for chapter 2!**

* * *

Jana knew something was off the second she stepped foot into Azalea Town. The people were frazzled and giving off an air of panic. She couldn't ask anyone what was wrong because everyone seemed detached and nobody was paying much attention to anybody else. She finally got her answers when she found the house of the local celebrity, Kurt. She found the old man sitting on his front porch, watching the day unfold. Jana saw that he was keeping a level head, unlike everyone else, so she asked him what was wrong.

"Are you new to Azalea?" Kurt asked. After she nodded in response, he answered, "look around. Normally, you'd be seeing groups of Slowpoke lazing about. Here in Azalea, we are all very in tune with nature, so the Slowpoke and humans coexist peacefully. Some time last night, the Slowpoke all disappeared, and nobody has any explanation."

"I see," Jana said. "Any idea what might have happened?"

"I think something might have happened in the Slowpoke Well. That's where they make their residence," Kurt explained. "I was just about to head over and check it out. Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure," Jana said.

"Good." Kurt stood up and approached her. "By the way, my name's Kurt. Yours?" He held out his hand as he said this.

"I'm Jana," Jana said as she shook it.

"Nice to meet you. Now let's go check on those Slowpoke."

Kurt showed Jana to the Slowpoke Well, which was the big hole in the ground she skipped on her way into town. They looked down it to see a ladder stretching into the dark well. "Nobody else lives in the Slowpoke Well, right?" Jana asked.

"No, why would you ask?" Kurt answered.

"I've had enough crazy people living in dark places for one journey, thanks."

"Um, alright then. After you?"

"Age before beauty," Jana said, gesturing for him to go down the ladder first.

"I believe the saying is 'brains before beauty,'" Kurt said.

"Same thing, you go first."

Kurt shrugged. "Fine then. I'll go." As he got on the ladder, he prepared for his descent by giving Jana a warning. "Be careful on your way down. The ladder's slippe—whoa!" Before he could finish, he slipped off the ladder and tumbled down the hole into the darkness.

"Kurt!" Jana yelled. She heard the sound of a heavy body hitting the ground and quickly followed him down, careful not to fall. She found him curled up in a ball and clutching his ankle. "Kurt, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the old man groaned. "I'm just not as spry as I used to be. Ouch...Jana, when I fell, I heard someone yell from inside the well. Someone must be hurting the Slowpoke. Find out who's doing it and whup their ass, okay?"

Jana nodded. "You got it, Then I'll come back and help you out, got it?"

"Okay," Kurt groaned.

"Nobody hurts Pokémon and gets away with it," Jana grumbled as she made her way into the well. As she walked, she found several Slowpoke, shivering on the cold, wet ground. The first three she encountered didn't look like the Slowpoke she remembered seeing on TV, but she couldn't quite figure out why not. When she found the fourth, normal-looking Slowpoke, she realized what was wrong. The first three she passed were missing their tails. "Oh, that is so wrong!" Jana yelled. "I'm coming to get you, whoever you are!" Her continued yelling broke any traces of the element of surprise she had going for her, but she was so angry that she didn't care. A few moments of walking later, she came across a room lit by floodlights in the corners, powered by generators that were surrounded by men dressed in all black except for the dark red letters plastered on their chests. "Who are you and what are you doing to the Slowpoke?" Jana demanded of no one in particular.

A man holding a wicked looking knife stood from his perch atop one of the generators. "So you're the one who was making all that noise," he said. He pushed his hat up so Jana could see the anger in his eyes. "Who are you?" He asked.

Undeterred, Jana held her ground. "I asked first, now who are you and what are you doing here?"

Seeing that she wasn't going to cooperate, the man sighed. "Fine, if you insist." He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his bright blue hair. When he put his hat back on, he struck a stupid looking pose. "We are Team Rocket! I'm the admin in charge of this operation, Proton. We're cutting off these Slowpoke tails so we can sell them for big bucks. And you are?"

Jana gasped. "You're cutting off these poor Pokémon's tails for money? I'm not letting you get away with that." She grabbed her Pokéball from her belt. "I'm Jana and I'm the one who's gonna stop this operation in its tracks! Go, Totodile!" She threw her ball and Totodile came dancing out excitedly.

Proton smirked. "I'd like to see you try." He grabbed his own ball and tossed it in front of him, where it opened to reveal a Zubat.

Jana scoffed. "Oh man, a Zubat. Whatever will I do?" She asked sarcastically. "Totodile, hit it with with a Water Gun." Totodile obliged and soaked the bat Pokémon with water before Proton could respond. Zubat hit the ground unconscious and Proton stomped in frustration.

"Damn it, you useless bat." He recalled his Zubat and grabbed his second Pokéball. "Let's take care of this nuisance, Koffing!" A Pokémon Jana had yet to see emerged from this ball. It was big round, purple and riddled with craters. "Koffing, tackle it." Koffing zoomed toward Totodile and hit her with enough force to send her flying backwards. Jana crouched and caught Totodile in her arms.

"Don't let that weak-ass hit get you down, show him your chops and use Bite." Totodile nodded and jumped from her arms. She ran at Koffing and clamped down on it with her massive jaw. Koffing tried to shake her off, but Totodile held fast.

"Koffing, get that thing off with Poison Gas!" All the holes adorning Koffing's body erupted with purple smoke, which enveloped Totodile and caused her to start coughing uncontrollably. Totodile backed out of the gas cloud and stumbled backward a few steps before righting herself.

Jana bit her lip. As long as that gas was there, there was no way Totodile was going to get close enough to deal a solid hit. "Good thing we have a long range move. Totodile, use Water Gun again!" Totodile shot her attack toward the cloud, washing the smoke away and knocking Koffing out of the air. "Now bite it!" Before Koffing could regain its composure, Totodile jumped at it and bit it, again refusing to let go.

"We're just gonna do this over and over, aren't we?" Proton laughed. "Poison Gas again, Koffing."

"Jump back," Jana commanded. "Then use Water Gun again!" Just as the smoke started leaking out of Koffing, Totodile let go, jumped back and shot the water attack once again. This time it was too much for Koffing, who tumbled to the ground and remained still.

"Koffing, get up!" Proton yelled, having suddenly lost his composure. When Koffing didn't respond, he threw his hat down in disgust. "How could I lose to a little girl?"

"By using shitty Pokémon, honestly," Jana said, crossing her arms. Totodile crossed her arms as well, mirroring what her trainer was doing. "And don't get too torn up about the gender of who you lost to. You sucked, and who I am had nothing to do with it."

Proton growled. "Fine, you win this one, but you'll regret ever crossing Team Rocket. Why, if we knew where our boss was, you'd be in a heap of trouble!" Before Jana could respond, one of the grunts who was watching everything threw a smoke bomb at Jana's feet, filling the room with thick smoke. Jana and Totodile covered their eyes and coughed, overwhelmed by the smoke. When it cleared, The floodlights had been shut off and everyone besides Jana and her Pokémon had cleared out.

"Well, damn," Jana said. "They got away. I mean, at least we stopped them from cutting off any more tails." Totodile nodded agreement and Jana picked her up in her arms. "You did good, Totodile. I'm so proud of you." Totodile smiled at Jana and made a happy noise before being put back into her ball for the time being. As Jana was turning to leave, she heard noises in the cave behind her. "Who's there?" She demanded as she whirled around. From several small holes in the walls, Slowpoke started coming into the open one at a time. They all looked at Jana with happy yet confused expressions and several started yawning at her.

Kurt limped into the room and put a shaky hand on her shoulder. "The Slowpoke seem grateful," he said.

"How can you tell?" Jana asked.

"I told you we in Azalea Town are in tune with nature, didn't I? Trust me, I can tell by how they're acting that they're thankful you came. And I gotta say, I agree with them. If it weren't for you, who knows who would have stepped in to stop those goons in the black get-ups?"

"I couldn't just let it keep happening," Jana said.

"And for that, we are grateful. Now let's get out of this glorified hole in the ground, shall we?" Kurt offered. "I'll make you tea at my house."

"Thanks, old man," Jana said.

Later, Jana shared a cup of delicious tea with Kurt and his granddaughter. During the get-together, she had a question for the old man. "So, Kurt, what do you know about Team Rocket?"

Kurt set his cup down on the table and sighed. "Team Rocket is a villainous organization that came to power about four years ago. They would steal Pokémon and pawn them off to collectors for exorbitant prices. Three years ago, a young trainer from Pallet Town took them on almost single-handedly. She was a very powerful trainer."

"Wait, she?" Jana asked. "Huh. When you said a powerful trainer from Pallet, I figured you meant Gary Oak."

Kurt laughed and shook his head. "No, no. Few people actually know this, but the Champion actually set off on his journey the same day as his very best friend, and she was the trainer who took on Team Rocket. Unfortunately, nobody's heard from her for years. Nobody knows what happened to her, and when asked about it, Gary gets really cagey and refuses to answer. Some people think she stepped on a few too many toes and got herself killed, but I doubt Team Rocket would stoop that low."

"I see," Jana said. "The dude I fought in the cave said their boss was missing. Do you know about that?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "About two years ago, Team Rocket largely went quiet. A few grunts would be caught by police every once in a while, insisting that the leader disappeared and disbanded the organization. It seems a few members have been working underground since then. If they're back, it could mean they're making an attempt at catching national attention again so their boss will come out of hiding."

"I see," Jana said. "So we should let someone know and stomp them out while they're still small."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm sure the people in the cave weren't all that's left of the Rockets. Even without their leader, they wouldn't be stupid enough to send their entire workforce to do one job. There's probably a lot more left than we know what to do with."

"Well that sucks," Jana concluded.

"Indeed it does," Kurt agreed.

"I wonder why I never heard of them." Jana wondered aloud.

Kurt shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe your parents were keeping it from you."

"Maybe she was."

"But let's talk about something happier, shall we?" Kurt said. "All this adult talk is making my granddaughter bored." The little girl yawned dramatically in response. "So what brings you to Azalea in the first place?"

Jana perked up at the opportunity to talk about her adventure. "I'm taking the gym challenge!"

"Oh, are you now?" Kurt asked. "Tell me more. How far are you?"

"I only have one badge right now," Jana admitted. "I kind of started three days ago, and getting through the Sprout Tower with only my Totodile was a real bi—er, pain in the a—uh, butt." Kurt laughed as Jana tried to stumble her way out of cursing in front of his granddaughter.

"I see. So you're here to fight the gym leader."

"Yeah. That and the route to Ecruteak from Violet is blocked right now."

"I see." Kurt said. "Well, the gym leader here is kind of a pushover, but you're going to need more than just your Totodile if you hope to beat Goldenrod's leader."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm not saying anything bad about your Pokémon, but the gym leader there has a reputation for being really strong."

"I see. I'm excited!" Jana bounced. "That reminds me, I should probably go fight this gym leader. Any tips for me, old man?"

"I hope you're not scared of bugs," Kurt said as Jana got up and stretched.

"Me? Scared? Ha! Of course I'm not scared of bugs," Jana laughed. "But thanks for the tip anyway."

* * *

After soundly thrashing Bugsy, the Azalea gym leader, Jana strolled out of the gym with her newly evolved Croconaw proudly walking beside her. She admired the badge shaped like a ladybug, watching the twilight glint off it. "That's two down and six to go," she said to herself. "Anyway, I guess I should probably get some sleep. It's only just getting dark, but apparently there's a dark-ass forest in between here and Goldenrod?" Croconaw shrugged in response. "Oh well, it's been a big day anyway, so some rest wouldn't hurt."

Croconaw nodded in agreement and the two shared a high-five before heading to the Pokémon center for a rest.

The next day, Jana left the center as the sun was peeking out from behind Union Cave. Her parting words to the nurses inside consisted of praising the great beds in the centers. She was approached by a man slightly older than her before she could make it very far. "Um, excuse me," he said. "Are you the girl who saved the Slowpoke?"

Jana tilted her head in confusion. "Uh, yeah. I am. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to thank you for saving the Slowpoke," the man said. "We've all been very worried about them, and I don't know what we would have done without you."

Jana laughed. "Well, it's not big deal really..."

Suddenly, a passerby chimed into the conversation. "I heard she fought some rogue Team Rocket members!"

"Oh, that was just one guy, really," Jana explained. "I mean, there were like, five or six others there, but I fought their admin or whatever he called himself."

The two people gasped and a third overhearing the conversation joined in as well. "You beat one of the Rockets' higher-ups?"

"It's really no big deal," Jana said. Before she knew it, several people had joined in and her attempts at being modest only made them more interested in the story. From how dark it was to the strategy she used against Koffing to the fact that she took on both of his Pokémon with only one of her own, each new detail served to amaze them more. By the time she finally managed to get out of the conversation, a crowd of grateful Azalean natives were congratulating her and patting her on the back. When she was out, she had to sit on the ground behind the Pokémon center for a few moments to collect herself. She'd never seen a crowd that big, and the sheer amount of people had started to make her panic. After a few deep breaths, she noticed a pair of feet in front of her.

She looked up to see Nicholas with his arms crossed, glaring down at her. "So, word on the street is that you fought off Team Rocket. Is that true?"

Jana huffed. "What of it? Don't have a soft spot for them, do you, Pokémon thief?"

Nicholas scoffed. "Please. I hate those assholes. If I had known they were back sooner, that would have been me taking them down."

"I'm sure it would have been," Jana said condescendingly.

"They act all big and tough in a group, but once it's one-on-one, they're weak," Nicholas ranted. "Don't let that victory get to your head. Just because you managed to beat one does not make you stronger than me."

Jana stood up and shot daggers at him. "Okay then, want to see just how much stronger than you I am? It's easy to figure it out 'for real.' Fight me, tough guy."

"Fine, but remember you asked for it," Nicholas warned.

"Remember you're the one who called me weak in the first place," Jana replied as she sent out her Croconaw.

"Have you even caught any other Pokémon?" Silver asked.

"Hey, the decision to catch another Pokémon for Team Jana is a very important and difficult one, okay?" Jana shot. "Don't get on me for taking my time."

"Fine. Have fun losing," Nicholas said as he tossed his Pokéball, revealing a Gastly. "This one will be for punching me in the face. Gastly, use Lick." Gastly flew towards Croconaw with its long tongue outstretched.

"Croconaw, use Bite!" Jana yelled. Croconaw ran for Gastly and opened her jaws wide. She clamped down on Gastly's tongue, causing it to shriek in terror and evaporate completely for a moment before reappearing beside Nicholas. "Now douse it in your Water Gun." Croconaw shot a stream of water at Gastly, causing it to yell again and fall to the ground.

"What the hell!" Nicholas cursed as he recalled his Pokémon. "You just got lucky, knowing a dark-type move and all. That won't help against Zubat." Another ball was thrown and another bat jumped from the bright white light.

"As if I haven't fought a million of those," Jana said with a smirk. "Croconaw, hit it with Water Gun." Croconaw shot another torrent of water at Zubat, who dodged it quickly.

"You use Bite, Zubat," Nicholas called. Zubat flew at Croconaw and bit her arm. Croconaw shook it off and smacked it away with her tail.

"Congrats, your Zubat just did more damage than any other Zubat I've fought," Jana said sarcastically. "Use Rage, Croconaw." Croconaw ran at Zubat with a glowing red claw and swiped at it. Zubat was hardly phased by the attack and bit Croconaw once more, per its trainer's orders. "Rage once more!" Jana called. After being bitten again, Croconaw's attack was stronger, sending Zubat flying. This pattern repeated twice more before Zubat was finally out of stamina and Croconaw's rage was strong enough to knock over several grown men.

"Go, Quilava," Nicholas called. Cyndaquil's evolved form emerged and let out a fierce battle cry. "You're all I have left, so kick this Croconaw's ass. Use Smokescreen!" Quilava hurled a ball of dark gray smoke at Croconaw, which exploded on impact, clouding up her vision.

"All we need to do is get one hit in, Croconaw," Jana encouraged. "If you can just hit it with one rage attack, it'll go down easy. Now get out of that cloud and hit it with Rage!" Croconaw leapt out of the cloud of smoke, but was immediately hit by a second Smokescreen.

"Quilava, run around to the back and hit Croconaw with Ember." Quilava did as it was told and shot burning hot embers at Croconaw's back. Croconaw cried out in pain as she fought to get free of the Smokescreen.

It wasn't until Quilava pulled off this combination a couple more times that Jana got an idea. "Croconaw, use Water Gun on the ground!" Croconaw was confused, but obeyed. The water splashed on the ground and cleared the cloud somewhat, but more importantly, it propelled Croconaw high in the air, far above the cloud. She spotted Quilava on the ground and shot another Water Gun at it. The attack hit Quilava square on and sent it tumbling backwards. "Now use Rage!" Croconaw landed in the cloud, but thanks to her earlier attack, she knew exactly where Quilava was, so she sprinted out of the cloud and straight at her opponent. Her bright red claws raked across Quilava face and sent it flying. It hit the back of the Pokémon center and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Damn it!" Nicholas stomped his foot on the ground before returning Quilava to its Pokéball. "You win this time, but it was a fluke. Next time you won't be so lucky!" Before Jana could retort, Nicholas sprinted off in the direction of Ilex forest.

"What a baby," Jana said, rolling her eyes. "How are you, Croconaw?" Jana's Pokémon gave her a thumbs up and smiled. "Good!" Jana said, returning the gesture. "Sorry I make you fight your old friend like that, but that kid needs to know his place." Croconaw nodded understanding. "Glad you agree. Now let's get through that forest, eh?"

* * *

After an annoyingly long trek through the Ilex forest, Jana entered the next route with a shiny new TM and an old, worn out HM that she didn't think she'd ever need. She walked the path of Route 34, battling everyone in sight. The constant battling seemed to be getting to Croconaw, though, as she was starting to slow down and look fatigued. Jana noticed this and thought that maybe it was time to catch her second Pokémon to help Croconaw relax and not have to fight all the time. But what kind of Pokémon were on this route? Anything she would want? Like she said, picking out additional members was a very important and difficult decision, so she had to go about choosing in the best possible way.

Which, of course, meant tossing a Pokéball at the first Pokémon she found and hoping for the best. Luckily, she managed to catch the first Pokémon she attempted to catch, and the Pokédex was kind enough to tell her all about her new team member in its robotic voice. "Abra. Psychic-type. Level ten. Female. Abra hypnotizes itself so that, even when it's asleep, it can teleport away if it senses danger."

Jana looked at her new Pokémon, which was apparently called Abra. It was very small and entirely yellow aside form a single brown stripe on its tail and what looked like brown armor on its chest. She nodded as she took this all in. "You look like a Casey. I'm gonna call you Casey."

The Pokémon formerly known as Abra nodded, but Jana couldn't tell if it was out of listening to her or if she was simply nodding off.

"Okay, let's try you out in battle," Jana said. "What do you know, Casey?" She punched a few buttons on her Pokédex and managed to pull up Abra's moveset. "...You only know Teleport. I can't believe I caught a Pokémon that only knows how to use Teleport!" Immediately, Casey started glowing and before Jana could ask why, she found herself in the Azalea Town Pokémon Center. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." She looked at Casey angrily. "That wasn't a command, that was...oh god damn it I have to go through that forest again, don't I?"

* * *

END OF DAY 4:

"Dear Journal,

"You won't believe the bullshit I've been through these past couple of days. First of all, I had to go through this musty old cave called Union Cave or something. It made me worried that I'd meet another cave-dwelling girl, but luckily I got through that without a hitch. Totodile and I got to Azalea Town, where we learned that these assholes calling themselves Team Rocket were cutting off Slowpoke tails! So obviously I took them down without breaking a sweat. The one we fought was named Proton, and while he had good taste in hair color, he had terrible taste in Pokémon. He used a Koffing and it smelled like what I imagine death smells like.

"After I kicked Team Rocket's collective ass, I took on Azalea's gym leader. His name was Bugsy and he looked kind of like a girl, but I'm not one to judge. He was significantly cooler than Falkner, but that doesn't mean I didn't beat him anyway. The best part is, that gym battle was the first battle for my newly-evolved Croconaw! Yeah, Totodile grew taller and got stronger and all around cooler looking. She's even more kick-ass now, if that was possible.

"After that, I had to go through this stupid forest. Of course, I didn't do that until I beat Nicholas again. He had three Pokémon against my one and I _still_ whupped him! It was awesome. Anyway, in the forest, I found this asshole who couldn't keep his Farfetch'd under control. What am amateur. Anyway, I helped him and got an HM out of it, but to be honest, I might find more use out of this thing if I just sell it. I also got a TM for Headbutt which actually came in handy, but I'll get to that in a second.

"After the forest thing, I caught my first new Pokémon! Her name is Casey and she's an Abra. She's a bit of a trickster, because when I complained about her only knowing Teleport, she teleported us all the way back to Azalea! I was pissed I had to go through Ilex forest again, but I can't hold it against her, she's so cute. Again, she only knew Teleport, so that was a hassle, at least until I found out she could learn that Headbutt move!

"Now she's headbutting like the pros and, just between us, I think she's about to evolve! I definitely gotta do that before I challenge the third gym leader, who's apparently very strong.

"In art-related news, I still suck at drawing. Anyway, I'll get back to you on how the gym battles goes. Catch ya later!"


	3. I Am Become Miltank Destroyer of Worlds

After intense training, many headbutts, and several severely injured Drowzee, Casey the Abra finally became a Kadabra and Jana felt ready to take on the Goldenrod City gym. The gym was mostly a breeze. Even Whitney's first Pokémon, a Clefairy, went down without much protest, but it was the leader's second Pokémon that made things interesting. The short, peppy, pink-haired girl seemed unphased by her Clefairy getting beaten and beckoned forth her signature Pokémon, Miltank. The cow Pokémon stomped the ground and growled at Casey. "Miltank, use Attract!" Whitney said. Then, the cow did the most terrifying thing it could have done. It struck a strange pose and winked at Casey, who was just as confused as Jana.

"What the fuck?" Jana said.

"Your Kadabra's a girl, isn't she?" Whitney asked after a moment.

"Uh, yeah?" Jana said. "Her name's Casey."

"Casey's a boy name!" Whitney said.

"My ass it is," Jana shot back. "Casey is a perfectly fine gender neutral name. It also happens to be the name of the Kadabra that's gonna kick your ass. Casey, Headbutt!"

Casey charged at Miltank, who countered by ducking its head and slamming into her, sending her to the ground. "Stomp!" Whitney commanded. Miltank lifted one foot and stomped on Casey's face.

"Use Disable." Jana said. Once Miltank had backed off, Casey jumped to her feet and pointed her spoon at it. A thin blue light shot from the spoon and wrapped around Miltank's leg. "There, now you can't use Stomp, and Attract is useless," Jana bragged. "What are you gonna do now that half your moveset is useless?"

Whitney laughed in response. "I think I might just have a solution. Miltank, use Rollout!"

Miltank curled into a ball and sped at Casey with incredible speed. Despite her best efforts, Casey couldn't dodge the rolling monstrosity and got steamrolled. Miltank ricocheted off Casey and made a large loop to turn around. "Quick," Jana called, "use Confusion!" Casey held out her hand and Miltank slowed considerably, surrounded by a blue force field. Unfortunately, this didn't last long, as Miltank's momentum shattered the force field, causing Casey to stumble backwards, creating the perfect opening for Miltank to roll in and hit her once more. Again, Miltank made a show of turning around, giving Jana enough time to try to think of a plan. "Um...Casey, run at Miltank with a Headbutt. Maybe that will work?" Casey stood up shakily and nodded. She lowered her head and charged at the fatty ball of death. Unfortunately, Miltank's bulk was too much for Casey, who got hurled backwards and hit the wall hard. "Shit, Casey!" Jana ran to her and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry. You get some rest, okay?" She recalled Casey into her Pokéball and prepared Croconaw's ball. Croconaw came out and instantly almost got crushed by the bulldozer formerly known as Miltank. "Yeah, you see what we're dealing with here, right?" Jana asked. Croconaw nodded and Jana started trying to think of a plan. "Alright. When Miltank starts charging for you, use Water Gun to try to slow it down. Then when it's slow, jump out of its path, alright?"

Croconaw nodded and watched Miltank closely. When it changed course and started coming right at her, she shot her usual torrent of water at it, which slowed it down, but just barely enough for Croconaw to dodge by the skin of her teeth. "Okay, that clearly isn't working..." Jana said.

Suddenly, Miltank stopped in front of Whitney, awaiting its next order. "Alright, Miltank," Whitney said. "How are you? You good?" Miltank nodded and Whitney smiled. Good!"

Jana's eyes widened. "Quick, while it can see you, use Scary Face!" Croconaw glared at Miltank, who shuddered and stepped back slowly. "That should slow it down nice and good! Now use Ice Fang!" Croconaw's teeth started glowing blue and she ran at Miltank with her jaws wide open, which was probably a scarier sight than the actual move Scary Face.

"Rollout!" Whitney yelled. Miltank instantly made like an Autobot and rolled out, straight at Croconaw's wide open maw. It crashed into Croconaw and sent her flying, rendering her Ice Fang useless. Croconaw landed on her feet and shook the hit off.

"Use the strategy I told you to use earlier," Jana commanded. "Now that you slowed it down with Scary Face, that should work better." Croconaw shot water at Miltank, slowing it down considerably and giving her plenty of time to jump to the side of the onslaught that was Rollout. "You're really good, Whitney," Jana said. "I respect you."

"Thanks," Whitney said cutely. "I normally don't get complimented like that. Most if it is curses and wondering out loud how to beat me."

Jana laughed. "Well, I've been doing that too, to be fair." In the midst of this banter, Croconaw had to dodge Miltank a couple more times, each time just barely side-stepping the cow Pokémon in time. "Croconaw, it's time to finish this. Use Rage!" Croconaw's claw started glowing red and she swiped at Miltank, who shrugged off the hit and bulldozed Croconaw, sending her tumbling backwards. "Again!" Jana yelled. "Just keep running at Miltank and hitting it with Rage. After a few hits, you'll be able to take her down real easy." Croconaw nodded nervously, not excited for the beating that was about to take place. She ran at Miltank with her reddened claw and swiped at it again, getting knocked back in the process. Now the battle was a matter of which combatant was going to withstand more hits, and Jana was getting nervous about Croconaw's chances. Croconaw's "hit and then get hit" cycle repeated a couple of times, the damage multiplying each time, until finally, Croconaw let out a roar, swiped at Miltank, and managed to divert its course so that it ran straight into the wall. When the smoke from the impact cleared, Miltank was revealed to have fainted. Jana jumped in the air in celebration. "Yeah! Way to go, Croconaw! Come here, you big winner!" She extended her arms and Croconaw ran at her for a hug. Croconaw knocked her on her butt from the force, but neither of them cared, as they were too busy celebrating.

After recalling Miltank, Whitney approached Jana and her Croconaw."Wow, you did great, Jana!" Whitney congratulated. "Normally, when people beat me, they're so mean and brag about it until I cry, but I'm just happy you won."

Jana gasped. "That's horrible! They shouldn't do that to you."

Whitney shrugged. "It's nothing. Gym leaders face an awful lot of criticism, and what kind of gym leader would I be if I couldn't take it? Anyway, here you go. The Plain Badge is all yours." She brandished the yellow badge and Jana stood up to take it happily. "Good luck on the rest of your journey."

"Thanks a lot, Whitney!"

* * *

The route just after Goldenrod played host to many trainers, lots of wild Pokémon, and Janas third team member. It all started when Jana was challenged by a boy who had two Nidoran. Interestingly, both of his Nidoran looked and sounded different from one another. Something Jana quizzed him on after she beat him. "Oh, that's because Nidoran are very radically different depending on their gender," the boy explained. "The purple one was the male and the blue one was the female. The boy will turn into Nidoking and the girl will become Nidoqueen."

"Interesting," Jana nodded. "Any idea on which of them is better?"

The boy shrugged. "In my experience, Nidoking end up being better most of the time."

"What? That can't be right," Jana said shaking her head.

"It really depends on who's using it," the boy said. "Neither of them are really better than the other."

"I'll show you," Jana insisted. "I'm gonna go catch a Nidoran right now and make it the best Nido-anything this side of Hoenn."

"Okay, whatever," the boy said. "You can find them on this route, so knock yourself out."

"I will," Jana said with a firm nod. With that, she ran off to find herself a blue Nidoran. It didn't take long at all to find a male Nidoran, but the search for a female took quite bit longer for no good reason. A fact that she made sure to loudly reiterate every time she found a male Nidoran. Finally, the rounder, softer face of a female Nidoran found itself staring back at a finally satisfied Jana. "Well hello there, cutie," she greeted it. "You're gonna come with me now, alright?"

After getting tossed around by Casey's Confusion, Nidoran was caught without much fanfare. A couple of hours were then spent training and catching Nidoran up to speed with the rest of the team. After getting bored of that, Jana decided to move on into the National Park.

This ended up being a big mistake.

The moment she walked into the National Park's front gates, she was accosted by a man in a uniform. "Hello, are you here to participate in the Bug-Catching Contest?" The man asked.

"Bug catching contest?" Jana echoed.

"Yes. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, we hold a contest to see who can capture the rarest, most exquisite bug Pokémon. The winner gets a rare stone as their prize and the best part is: everyone who participates can keep the Pokémon they catch! So would you like to take a shot at it?"

Jana pondered it for a moment before shrugging. "You know what, why not? I'll do it."

After being given twenty Park Balls, Jana was unleashed on the National Park's unsuspecting bug population. She systematically caught every bug-type that caught her eye, and just when she'd be happy with one, she'd spot another that she thought looked cooler. Finally, she laid eyes on the final Pokémon she'd attempt to catch. It was tall, slender, and green with wicked looking blades for hands and flimsy little wings on its back. "It's perfect," Jana said. She checked the Pokédex to learn its name before running up to it and pointing at it accusingly. "Scyther!" She yelled. "You're coming with me, dude!" She sent Nidoran into battle and Scyther took a battle stance, seeing the battle about to unfold. "Nidoran, use Poison Sting." Nidoran's horn started glowing purple and she hit Scyther's abdomen head on, causing the bug Pokémon to stumble back. It quickly recovered and ran at Nidoran, hitting it hard with a Quick Attack. Nidoran went tumbling backwards, but recovered. "Next, use Double Kick!" Jana commanded. Nidoran jumped at Scyther and spun in the air, striking it twice with her back feet. The hit barely stunned the wild Pokémon and it smacked Nidoran away with one of its blades. It rushed Nidoran and slashed at it several times. Nidoran collapsed at Jana's feet and struggled to get up. "You can do it, Nidoran!" Jana encouraged. "Just believe in yourself!"

Nidoran fell once again, but kept trying her best to stand up. Just when all hope seemed lost and Nidoran seemed to be on the verge of fainting, it started glowing brightly. Jana gasped and watched as Nidoran grew and transformed into a Nidorina, refreshed and ready to continue battling. "Alright!" Jana cheered. "Now hit that bastard with Poison Sting again!" Nidorina spun around and the spikes on her back started glowing. They shot little purple projectiles at Scyther, which all hit and sent it stumbling backwards. "Now scratch it, and we'll be done here." Nidorina ran at Scyther and slashed at it with her claws, downing the bug. Jana threw one of her last park balls at it, which caught the Pokémon without a hitch. "Yeah!" Jana pumped her fist in the air. "You are so winning this contest and then I'm so gonna use you on my team. Welcome to the squad, Scyther. Also, sorry I called you a bastard earlier." She pocketed the ball she had been talking to and went back inside the gate to wait until the contest ended and the results were announced.

The results were total bullshit, by the way. Jana got second place and the loser who got first place caught a Butterfree. She had argued that Scyther was so much cooler than Butterfree, but the officials insisted that this particular Butterfree was so exquisite it just _had_ to win. Something about the sheen of its wings or something. It was stupid, whatever it was. Jana swore off the Bug-Catching Contest forever and stormed away in a fit. Luckily for her, the roadblock in between her and Ecruteak City was a perfect sponge for her rage. She had overheard someone in Goldenrod talking about how the "tree" wasn't actually a tree and hated water, so after hosing it down with Croconaw's water attacks, the Sudowoodoo sprung to life and attacked her.

The poor thing didn't know what it had gotten itself into.

After sufficiently thrashing the rock-type, Jana stormed into the Ecruteak Pokémon Center just as the sun was starting to disappear over the horizon.

By the time Jana got herself a room in the Pokémon Center and had settled in the room, the night had fully covered Ecruteak, ushering in the weirdest night of Jana's life.

Jana hadn't even been trying to sleep for five minutes before loud noises from the street below filled her room. The noise was so loud and obnoxious that within a few minutes, Jana had given up on sleeping long enough to check out what the racket was. She had a bad feeling about the kind of people who would be making this noise, so before she departed the Pokémon Center, she let Scyther out of its Pokéball to intimidate anyone who would get the wrong idea. Together, they ventured out into the dark streets of Ecruteak and were greeted by the sight of about half the city out and about. Everyone who was out was being loud, either to their friends, strangers, or to themselves and it seemed like there was one huge party going on. Jana came across a man who was wandering aimlessly. "Hey, mister," Jana greeted. "What's going on here?"

The man looked at her with a confused look. "Are you new here?" He asked. "This is the Saturday night party!"

"Saturday night party?" Jana echoed. "That sounds like the stupidest thing ever."

"Look, man," the guys slurred his words as he spoke. "I'm too drunk to explain this to you, okay? Go ask Morty. Dude'll explain it nice and good for you."

"I will," Jana said. Without another word, she stormed off to find this Morty guy before realizing she didn't actually know who she was looking for. Finally, she ended up stumbling into a man with brunette hair and a strange purple get-up. He seemed like he was the most incapacitated of anyone, with unfocused eyes and speech patterns that could barely be deciphered. "Excuse me, do you know where Morty is?" Jana asked. "I need to talk to him."

The man looked at her bewildered, as if surprised anyone was talking to him. "Morty? Yeah dude, he's like, my best fucking friend." The man stumbled over nearly every word and as he said them, he struggled to stand up and not trip on his stupid white cape. "I lost 'im, though. He's usually by the gym." He repeated this last sentence several times for no reason, and by the time he had said it four times, Jana had finally understood what he was saying.

"Okay, what does he look like?"

The man in purple laughed and made a motion at his neck. "You can't miss 'im. He wears this _stupid_ fuckin' scarf and a ridiculous headband. Dude thinks he's psychic or something. That's funny. If he's a psychic than my name's Eusine."

"Thanks," Jana said curtly before quickly distancing herself from this crazy man.

"Wait, my name _is_ Eusine..."

By the gym, Jana finally found the man she was looking for. Morty wore a black sweatshirt with purple cuffs and around his neck was indeed a kind of dumb-looking scarf that was purple with dark red flame-like patterns on the ends. Jana approached him and gave him a dirty look. "What's going on in this town?"

Morty shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about, dude. This is typical Saturday night fare. Are you new here?"

"Yes, yes I am." Jana said. "And I've been told you're the one behind all this partying. Who do you think you are, organizing parties that disrupt everyone's sleep?"

"I'm the gym leader, actually," Morty said, crossing his arms. "Around these parts, what the gym leader says goes, kid."

Jana's eyes widened. "What kind of gym leader throws wild parties every weekend? That's so irresponsible!"

"Hey, what everyone else does during the party isn't my business or my jurisdiction," Morty said. "I just do this so I can hang out with people when I'm most awake. It's also for the sake of being able to toke up without anyone caring, because all the tight-asses go to bed before dark. At least, that's usually the case." Morty punctuated his sentence with an accusing look at Jana. "Sometimes tight-asses slip through the cracks."

Jana gave Morty a look of disbelief. "I've never met a gym leader as disrespectful as you. What's your fucking deal, dude?"

Morty ran his hand through his dirty-blonde hair. "I get cranky when someone stops me from getting stoned, alright? Just go and let me have my joint in peace."

"Gladly," Jana spat. She turned around and stormed off, now determined to beat this asshole in the most humiliating way possible. That would have to wait for the next day, unfortunately, so until then she was just going to try to get as much shut-eye as possible.

But she didn't get back to the center before seeing at least three separate streakers running around the town with reckless abandon, letting it all hang out.

* * *

END OF DAY 5:

"Ecruteak is sickening. That's all there really is to say on the matter."

* * *

The next day, a sleep-deprived Jana marched over to the gym at her first opportunity to find an old man standing by the door and stopping anyone who wanted to enter. "The gym leader's not in," he said.

"What, is he hungover or in a drug-induced coma?"

The man chuckled and shook his head. "No, he is helping his friend look for a rare, powerful Pokémon at the Burned Tower." He motioned behind the gym as he said this. "If you must see him now, you may take it up with him there. Be careful, though, the Burned Tower isn't exactly stable."

"Thanks, mister," Jana said. "You're probably the most sane person I've met in this damn city." With that, Jana went straight to the Burned Tower, intrigued by the possibility of meeting a powerful Pokémon. "Maybe I can snag myself one," she said to herself.

One she was inside the Burned Tower, she was met with the sight of the man from last night with the purple clothes and white cape, digging around in the wreckage for something while Morty stood a bit to the side, shaking his head. "Eusine, dude, you know it's too big to hide under this shit, right?"

"Of course I know that!" The man apparently named Eusine snapped. "I'm just looking for any trace of it I can. If I can find a hair or even a sweat drop, I can probably get a Growlithe to track it down."

"Or we could look in the basement," Morty suggested.

"We'll get to that."

It was then that Jana decided to interrupt. "Um, excuse me? What are you looking for?"

Eusine looked at her and perked up. "Well, hello stranger," he greeted. "I'm Eusine, and you are?" He extended his hand, but Jana ignored his offer.

"You met me last night," she said.

"Oh, did I?" Eusine asked. "Well, I'm sorry about anything I might have done or said last night. I wasn't eh, completely sober."

"I noticed."

"You must also forgive me because I don't recognize you. Which brings me back to the topic at hand: who are you?"

"I'm Jana," Jana said, continuing to ignore Eusine's awkwardly outstretched hand. "What are you doing in here?"

"We're looking for something," Morty said curtly. If he recognized her from the night before, he definitely wasn't showing it.

"Oh Morty, you don't do my quest enough justice," Eusine said. "What we're looking for is the legendary Pokémon, Suicune. I've been yearning to meet this Pokémon since I was a wee lad, growing up on the rough-and-tumble streets of Celadon City. Suicune is a Water-type Pokémon said to have the power to purify the most polluted of water."

Morty covered Eusine's mouth with his hand and repeated, "We're looking for something. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I want to battle you," Jana said. "And the old man in front of the gym said this was where you went."

"I see," Morty said. "Well, we'll be back at the gym later. At this rate, it could end up being hours, but what can you do?"

"Then I'll help you search for Suicune," Jana said.

"I dunno about that," Morty said. "This place is kind of iffy. I don't want you getting hurt on our account."

"I can handle anything this place can throw at me," Jana insisted. "Besides, I don't want to be a tight-ass." She looked at Morty accusingly, but he seemed confused. "You don't remember meeting me last night either, do you?"

"Can't say I do," Morty said. "Why, did I say something rude?"

"It doesn't matter," Jana said with a shake of her head. "Let's go look for this legendary Pokémon, shall we?"

Morty shrugged. "Alright."

Not five minutes after this exchange, Nicholas stormed into the tower and looked at Eusine and Morty. "Which one of you is the lazy, good-for-nothing gym leader of this town?"

Morty crossed his arms. "Excuse you. If I were you, I wouldn't run my mouth like that. What do you want with me, kid?"

"I want to get my badge and get out of here. Is that too much to ask?"

"Well, if you chill for a sec, I'm doing my bro a solid, so go wait in the kiddie pool with the other rude-ass toddlers."

Nicholas made a face and looked at Jana. "Or maybe I could kill time by showing this bitch just how strong I really am."

Jana smirked and stepped forward. "Oh, really?"

"Dudes, I wouldn't battle in here," Morty warned. "This place is unstable enough as is."

"No," Nicholas said. "I'm battling her right here. Now prepare to learn just how much better than you I am."

Jana laughed. "Okay, but you'll be disappointed. Scyther, let's go!" Her newest Pokémon sprung from its Pokéball and got into a fighting stance while Nicholas sent his Gastly into battle.

"Gastly, use Confuse Ray." Gastly's eyes started glowing and they shot two beams at Scyther.

"Dodge it and use Quick Attack!" Scyther ducked under the beams and shot for Gastly. It sped through the ghost-type's body without phasing it and stopped in its tracks. "Wait, what?" Jana asked.

"Idiot," Nicholas scoffed. "Don't you know you can't hit ghosts with Normal-type moves?"

"Right," Jana said to herself. "Use Pursuit!"

"What, wait?" Scyther's blade hand turned purple and it swiped at Gastly.

"Now follow it up with a Wing Attack," Jana commanded. Scyther's wings turned blue and it flew at Gastly before whirling around and whacking it with its wings. Gastly went flying and Nicholas cursed under his breath.

"Use Mean Look," Gastly's eyes started glowing black and it shot an angry look at Scyther, who flinched. "Now you can't switch your Scyther out," Nicholas bragged. "Now Gastly, use Curse!" Gastly, in response, emitted shockwaves that washed over Scyther and caused it to shiver. Then, without warning, Gastly fainted.

"What the hell just happened?" Jana asked.

"Gastly sacrificed the last of its health to lay a curse on Scyther," Nicholas explained. "And now that you can't switch it out, it'll keep getting hurt by the curse until it faints."

"Oh no!" Jana said. "Then we better wrap this up quick."

"I agree," Nicholas said as he tossed another Pokéball. "Let's go, Magnemite." From the ball emerged a small, round, gray Pokémon with magnets attached to its sides and one, huge eye in the middle. "Use Thundershock!" Magnemite's magnets started pulsing with electricity before shooting the yellow bolts at Scyther. They enveloped Scyther and it cried out in pain before collapsing hard on the ground.

Jana recalled Scyther and sighed. "That was a good strategy, I have to admit," she congratulated.

"It had to have been if I wanted to beat that immature bitch from Goldenrod," Nicholas said.

"Oh, that is it! Nobody insults Whitney like that while I'm around," Jana growled. "Let's go, Nidorina!" Nidorina sprang forth, ready to fight. "Double Kick!" Nidorina ran at Magnemite and and spun around before kicking it twice with each back foot.

"Sonicboom," Nicholas commanded calmly. This time, Magnemite's attachments fired white waves at Nidorina, who took the hit without much trouble.

"Show him another fierce Double Kick!" Jana called. Nidorina did as she was told and Magnemite could take no more. The heavy Steel-type fell to the ground, causing the tower to shake slightly.

"Oh fuck," Morty said.

After recalling Magnemite, Nicholas shrugged. "Of course it's gonna be weak, it's new to my team. Don't get cocky. "Let's go, Zubat." He threw Zubat into the fray, to which Jana responded by switching Nidorina out.

"I'm going to switch out too," Jana said. She reached for Casey's Pokéball, but before she could grab it, the ground started shaking at her feet. "Um, what's that?" She asked.

"What's what?" Nicholas responded. Before Jana could answer, the ground gave in under her feet. With a scream, she fell into the dark basement of the Burned Tower and landed hard on her back, hitting her head in the process.

"God damn," she said, sitting up slowly and rubbing her head.

"Serves you right," Nicholas called from above. "Maybe that hit to the head will teach you to not be so annoying."

"Fuck you, Nick!" Jana called up.

"Don't call me that," Nicholas snapped. "Whatever, I'm out of here."

Seconds later, Morty's head appeared above the hole in the ground. "Oh shit, are you okay, dude?" He called down.

"I'm fine," Jana said. "Are there stairs back up?"

"Yeah, they should be to your left," Morty answered.

"Cool," Jana answered. "Ouch..." She rubbed her head and slowly stood up. "Maybe we shouldn't have fought in the Burned Tower." She looked around the dark basement and couldn't shrug the feeling that someone—or something was watching her. Instead of heading for the stairs, she walked into the darkness to see if she could find out what it was. As she walked, she fumbled in her backpack for her flashlight. When she finally managed to clumsily grasp it, she flicked it on and turned it to illuminate the room in front of her. What she saw waiting for her was almost enough to make her drop the flashlight.

Three huge, quadrupedal Pokémon lay in front of her in a triangle formation. The one farthest away had reddish-brown fur and a strange appendage on its face that was yellow at the top, red on the sides and grey on the bottom. It had a white, cloud-like mane extending from the back of its head. The one to her right was yellow with black markings and a purple cape-like mane. The one to her left was blue with white, diamond-shaped spots and a purple mane, with ribbons protruding from its rear. All three of the beasts were currently laying on the ground, inert. They appeared to be sleeping, but as she swept the beam of the flashlight over them, they started stirring. Jana didn't notice this until her eyes landed on the ribbons, which started twitching and eventually started flowing seemingly of their own accord. She let out a worried sound and the red one's eyes snapped open. It let out a loud, booming yawn and stood up. The other two followed and before she knew it, Jana was staring down the three beasts. The red one jumped through the ceiling, causing splinters to rain down on her and the yellow one followed. The blue one ran a lap or two around Jana before stopping right in front of her and looking her in the eyes. It nodded at her and then followed its brethren out of the Burned Tower and into the Johto wilderness.

While Jana was processing what just happened, Eusine approached her with wonder in his eyes. "Did you see it? Suicune was below my feet the whole time! I mean, the other two were too, but _Suicune_ was here! It was here and I just missed being able to see it up close. Jana, did you get to see it?"

"Uh, yeah," Jana said. "I saw all three of those things. What were they?"

"Suicune was the blue one," Eusine said.

"Okay, so Suicune was the one who stopped and looked at me. And what were the other two?"

"Wait, Suicune looked at you?" Euisine asked. "The other two just ran, but Suicune stared at you?"

"Uh, yeah. Suicune ran a lap around me and looked into my eyes," Jana explained. "It was...weird."

"Suicune must be recognizing your talent as a trainer!" Eusine said loudly.

Jana flinched at the volume of his voice. "Don't yell, you'll make my headache worse."

"Right, sorry," Eusine said. "I'm just so excited. This is as close as I've gotten to Suicune."

"What makes you think it was recognizing my talent?" Jana asked.

"Uh, well..." Eusine thought for a moment before Morty joined the two in the basement, at which point he promptly dropped the subject. "Morty! Suicune was here!"

"Yeah, I know," Morty said. "We all saw it jump out of here with Entei and Raikou."

"But here's the good part: Jana got to meet Suicune face to face! It must have been impressed with her abilities as a trainer."

"What makes you say that?" Jana asked again, starting to get annoyed.

"A feeling in my gut, Jana. A feeling in my gut." Jana couldn't help but mentally remark that he was about to be feeling a punch in his gut.

Morty rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's get out of here before Eusine wets himself. That get-up won't look any good in yellow. Or white."

"Gross," Jana remarked, out loud this time.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, Jana couldn't shake the feeling that Eusine was on to something, even if he had no good explanation for his assumption. Was Suicune evaluating her, and if so, how could it tell how good she was at training Pokémon? This feeling lasted through her hard-won fight with Morty, when Morty admitted Eusine may have been on to something. "You truly are something else, Jana. And you give me this feeling that you might have the power to be recognized by the legendary Pokémon I want to meet."

Jana's response was to roll her eyes dramatically. "What's with you weirdos in purple and wanting to fuck legendary Pokémon?"

Jana's next plan was to head east of Ecruteak, but that plan was met with disappointment when she found a large body of water in between her and the rest of the route. When she returned to Ecruteak, she heard a commotion coming from a building not too far from the Pokémon Center. She figured this wasn't a wild party, because it was centralized to the building and was not taking place throughout the entire town. After deducing this, Jana decided to investigate. The building turned out to be a dance theater, and the disturbance was coming from a man dressed in black, standing on the stage and yelling obscenities at the women in kimonos that were presumably the ones who were supposed to be on the stage alone.

"Oh that is it, I'm kicking this guy's ass," Jana said to herself before storming up to the man. She climbed on the stage and poked the guy's shoulder. The older man turned around and was met with one of Jana's fists finding a home in his gut. He stumbled backwards and doubled over in pain.

"What the fuck was that for?" The man demanded.

"That's for harassing these women," Jana said.

The man stood straight and scowled at Jana. "Whatever. I'll do what I want." It was then Jana saw the red R emblem adorning his chest.

"Team Rocket," Jana said, narrowing her eyes at the man. "You need to leave, asshole."

"Make me," the man said.

Realizing that she probably couldn't take him in a fair fight, Jana grabbed a Pokéball from her belt. "How about this? We battle and whoever loses must promise never to step foot in this establishment again."

"Sounds fair," the guy said. "You are so done for. Let's go, Koffing!"

To make a short story even shorter, Casey downed the man's Koffing in one hit.

"Team Rocket and poison-types, man," Jana said to herself. "You'd think someone on this team would have a psychic counter."

The man growled and stormed out of the building. "Fuck this place anyway!" He yelled as he walked away, never to show his face in Ecruteak again.

Everyone who was in the building cheered and Jana smiled nervously from on the stage. After she awkwardly accepted several congratulations, the girls in the kimonos excused themselves back stage and took Jana with them. "We must thank you," one of the five kimono girls said.

"Yes, without your help, we don't know how long that man would have been up there making a mockery of us."

"No problem," Jana said. "But I don't get it. Why didn't you show him a thing or two yourselves?"

"While we're on the stage, we cannot be rude to a patron no matter how rowdy they are." the third girl explained.

"That sucks," Jana said. "Well, I need to get going, if you excuse me."

Before they let her leave, the kimono girls introduced themselves and insisted Jana take a copy of the HM for Surf. When she finally made her way out of the building through the impressed crowds, she saw that it was far too dark to venture to the next town safely, so an unfortunate second night in Ecruteak was necessary.

The one good thing that came from the encounter (besides an awesome water move for Croconaw) was that the man had reminded Jana that she needed to ask her mother something. After the pleasantries (and the reprimand that she hadn't called since she left,) Jana asked her question. "Mom, what do you know about a Team Rocket?"

On the other side of the line, her mother sighed. "You're going to ask why I never told you about them, aren't you?"

"Well, I ran into a couple of dudes talking all about this Team Rocket, and I've been told who they are and how long they've been around, so yeah. How and why didn't I learn about them until a couple of days ago?"

"Jana, understand that a mother must do what's best to protect her children. I never told you about them because they were dangerous and I didn't want you getting it in your head that you could take them on by yourself."

"I see," Jana said.

"Did you hear about what happened three years ago?"

"The girl who tried to beat them but went missing?" Jana asked. "Yeah, I did."

"I didn't want that to be you." Jana heard her mom sniffle and suddenly felt really guilty that she was asking this from all the way in stoner city.

"I understand," Jana said.

"You're just so headstrong, and while that is a great thing, I didn't want you to get yourself in trouble."

Suddenly, something connected in Jana's mind. "Is that why I didn't start my adventure until I was seventeen? Er, until the other day?"

A moment of silence. "Please don't be angry, Jana."

"I'm not angry, mom!" Jana said in a pleading tone. "I can't be angry at you. I just wanted to know is all."

"You're a brave girl, and now you're old enough, strong enough and smart enough to back up that bravery. I did it to protect you."

"Thank you mom," Jana said.

A moment of silence passed before her mother spoke again. "Jana?"

"Yes, mom?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"What is it?" Jana asked.

"If you find a large group of those Team Rocket people, please promise me you won't challenge them all without someone to help you. A friend or something."

"I haven't made much in the way of friends," Jana said. "But I think I can promise that."

"Thank you."

"Wait, how big of a group are we talking here?" Jana asked.

Her mom laughed before answering. "Like, this many."

Jana cracked a smile. "Mom, I can't see you."

"I know," her mom said. "Just be careful, alright?"

"Sounds fair," Jana said. "Well, I'm gonna head to bed now, okay?"

"Okay, honey. Oh, have you been using the diary I sent you with?"

"The journal? Yeah. It's got a lot in it already."

"Okay. Goodnight, sweetie."

"Goodnight mom."

"I love you Jana."

"Love you too."

* * *

END OF DAY 6:

"I want to say not a whole lot happened today, but I guess something kind of did? I mean, I got a gym badge from the asshole gym leader Morty and I saved the Kimono Girls from a misogynistic asshat, so there's that, but it doesn't feel like anything big happened. And I'm saying that after having met a legendary Pokémon! It's name was Suicune, and it was blue and had silly looking butt ribbons.

"It looked me straight in the eyes and was apparently evaluating my abilities as a trainer or something. I don't know. The whole ordeal is kind of confusing and it makes my head hurt thinking about it. I don't understand what that could mean if it was true, but I don't really care. At this point, I just really want to get out of Ecruteak City as fast as I can. This place blows.

"I'm gonna go lie down now. My head's pounding."

* * *

**Two new Pokémon and two new badges! Sounds like Jana's making good progress, eh? Please leave a review or feedback of any kind really to let me know what you think, and I'll see you next week!**


	4. Do It for the Olivine!

The next place Jana's travels took her was Olivine City, the beautiful port city overlooked by a giant lighthouse. After a quick rest at the Pokémon Center, Jana made a beeline for the gym. As she approached the building, the door opened to reveal an angry Nicholas. "Oh, what's your deal?" Jana asked. "You already beat the gym or did you get your ass kicked?"

"Neither," Nicholas answered. "The gym leader's not even in."

"They're not? Well, where are they?"

"She's in the lighthouse, hiding from challengers like a wimp."

Jana frowned. "Hey, maybe she has a good excuse to be at the lighthouse. Maybe she's not irresponsible like Morty was. You don't know her."

"I do know that I don't have the time to be wasting waiting for her to get her sorry ass down here to face me." He pushed by her as he made way to the docks. "I'm going to the next town. Maybe by the time I get back, she'll be done being a little bitch."

"You're gonna get yourself punched again, Nicky," Jana warned.

Nicholas whirled around and yelled at Jana. "_Don't call me that!_ I'm Nicholas, end of story."

"What's your problem?" Jana spat.

Nicholas turned around. "Weak people are my problem," he said before running to the docks.

Not interested in catching up to him and finishing the conversation, Jana decided to head toward the lighthouse. If the gym leader was there, maybe there was something she could help out with, and maybe there were trainers loitering around that she could battle to strengthen her team. Something about what happened in the Burned Tower told her this was a bad idea, but the lighthouse looked infinitely more stable than the old ruin, so she decided it was worth a shot.

When she reached the top after a couple of hours of battling, she found the source of the lighthouse's light. A tall, yellow Pokémon with bright orbs on its head and tail. The Pokémon was slumped over and looked sickly. Next to it stood a petite girl in a silver dress. Her light brown hair looked frazzled and her posture said that she was terribly worried. "Um, excuse me?" Jana whispered.

The girl jumped and spun around. "Who is it?" She demanded. The bags under her eyes said she hadn't slept in days and she was visibly shaking.

Jana put her hands up defensively. "It's okay. I'm Jana. I heard the gym leader was up here. Um, is that you?"

The girl sighed. "Yes, I'm the gym leader, but I'm not accepting any gym challenges at the moment."

"I know," Jana said. "I came up to see if I could help with anything. Is that Pokémon alright?"

The girl turned to the Pokémon in response. "Unfortunately, no. This is Amphy. She's the Ampharos who provides the lighthouse's light. Yesterday, she came down with a terrible illness and hasn't been able to produce enough light."

"That's terrible," Jana said. Amphy looked at her warily, causing Jana to feel like she shouldn't step any closer. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The gym leader's face lit up. "Actually, there is. Cianwood City has a pharmacy, and that's the only place that makes the medicine Amphy needs. I would go get it myself, but I'm worried sick about Amphy. I won't leave her side."

Jana nodded. "I can do that. But first..." She checked her PokéGear. "It's just about lunchtime."

"Wh-what?"

Jana sat on the floor and dug into her backpack. She produced two apples and held one out to the gym leader. "Here, eat. When you said you're worried sick, it made me think that maybe you need an apple."

Confused, the girl took the apple. "You know, you're right." She sat next to Jana on the ground and bit into the apple. "I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. Thanks, um, who are you?"

"I'm Jana. I'm taking the Pokémon League challenge, but if you and Amphy need me, I'll take a detour."

"It won't be much of a detour. Cianwood has a gym too, so you can do that while you're down there."

"Sweet," Jana said. "I'll have to remember to do that."

"By the way, I'm Jasmine."

"Nice to meet you Jasmine," Jana said with a smile.

Jasmine didn't smile back, but a look in her eye said she was grateful to Jana for her rarely-shown kindness.

After a short meal, Jana left Jasmine and Amphy with a promise to be back soon and an extra apple for Amphy to snack on if she felt strong enough. She checked her PokéGear to see that Cianwood City was an island not too far from Olivine, so after teaching Croconaw Surf, she headed straight for her destination. When she arrived, a cold wind washed over her and Croconaw. "What the hell?" Jana said to herself. "It's like, the middle of summer. Why did it get so cold just now?" She looked to the north and had a feeling that she should head that way to check it out instead of dropping by the pharmacy to the south to get Amphy's medicine. She trudged through the sand of the beach away from the buildings of Cianwood City, determined to find the cause of the sudden drop in temperature. Croconaw trailed behind her, unsure of what her trainer was doing or where they were going. Jana reached a rock wall that rose up about thirty feet, blocking her path and telling her that that was as far north as she was getting. Atop the rock wall stood a black figure. Jana couldn't tell what it was at first, but the shape of its body and the flowing ribbons told her exactly what it was. Suicune jumped from the top of the wall and landed in front of Jana. Suddenly, the cold washing over Jana was way too intense to possibly exist in the summertime. Jana crossed her arms over her chest and shivered while Croconaw timidly took a fighting stance. "Suicune?" Jana said. "That's your name right?" Then, an idea occurred to Jana. An idea so weird and crazy that she berated herself for even thinking it, but it also made perfect sense at the same time.

"Can you talk?" She asked the legendary Pokémon.

Suicune looked into her eyes a moment before turning and jumping away. It landed on the water like it was solid ground and ran off once more. Suddenly, the warmth of a summer day came back and the only trace of Suicune having been there were four paw-prints in the sand and the slight ripples its feet caused in the calm ocean water. Jana turned to head back into town when she saw a purple figure making its way toward her. "Oh shit," Jana groaned.

The purple suited figure approached Jana and, to her horror, turned out to be Eusine. "Ah, Jana! What a pleasure to run into you here," Eusine said happily.

"No," Jana said.

"I've been hard at work tracking down Suicune, and my chase has led me here to Cianwood. It strikes me as no coincidence that you're here at the same time. Jana, as someone who has been up close and personal with Suicune..."

"Ew."

"I must ask you: Has it visited you again?"

Jana wanted to tell him she hadn't, but she felt like she had to tell the truth here. "I saw it just now."

Eusine gasped. "You did? Where did it go? Did it scale that cliff? Because I'll climb it if need be."

"No," Jana answered. "But it did skip across the water and way the fuck away from here."

"Damn it," Eusine snapped his fingers. He then placed a hand on his hip and shook his head. "I'll never catch up to it at this rate. How do I become a trainer Suicune recognizes?"

Jana shrugged. "I'm just as clueless as you are. Now please leave."

"I've got it! If I beat you in a battle, maybe Suicune will recognize my prowess."

"Probably not," Jana replied.

"Jana, I hereby challenge you to a Pokémon battle. I will not accept no as an answer."

"That's a damn shame."

Eusine held a Pokéball at arm's length. "Are you ready?"

Jana sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Good. Let's go, Drowzee!" Eusine threw his Pokéball down and a Drowzee emerged, looking like it just woke up.

Jana sent out Scyther in response. "Fury Cutter," Jana commanded. Scyther slashed at Drowzee, who barely responded.

"Confusion!" Eusine shot back. Drowzee's eyes started glowing, but before it could launch an attack, Scyther hit it again with a second, stronger Fury Cutter. "Brilliant strategy," Eusine noted. "You know that Fury Cutter is stronger every time it hits and also strong against Drowzee."

"Yes, I know that I know," Jana said. "I'm not five." In the time this conversation took place, Scyther managed to get off a third Fury Cutter on Drowzee, who was beginning to show that it was feeling pain.

"Brilliant plan, but consider this: Disable!" Drowzee shot thin blue beams at Scyther that tangled themselves on its scythes.

"Oh darn," Jana said sarcastically. "What will I do now? Surely not use Pursuit or anything..." In response, Scyther's claws turned purple and it slashed at Drowzee, who fell unconscious without further ado.

"Damn it," Eusine said as he recalled Drowzee. "Outsmarted again. Your Scyther is much better than I thought. He's pretty impressive."

"Wait, it's a boy Scyther?" Jana asked.

Eusine smiled. "Obviously. You can tell by the size of its abdomen. Female Scyther have larger abdomens than the males."

"Fascinating," Jana said flatly. "Are we done here, or...?"

"Right," Eusine said. "Haunter, go!" His next Pokémon was one that Jana fought plenty in Morty's gym.

"Scyther, use U-Turn." Scyther flew at Haunter and slammed into it before retreating into its Pokéball. Jana turned to Croconaw, who had been watching this whole battle transpire and motioned for it to jump into the fray. "Let's show him your chops, Croconaw." Croconaw cheered and rushed into battle. A couple of bites later and Haunter had fallen without much of a struggle.

Eusine's final Pokémon, Electrode, managed to down Croconaw in a single use of Thunder, but Nidorina made short work of the ridiculously fast electric ball. After the battle, Eusine fell to his knees while Jana examined her nails. "Are we done yet?" she asked.

Eusine sighed sadly. "At this rate, Suicune will never recognize me as worthy for an audience with it."

"What do you even want with Suicune anyway?" Jana asked.

"It doesn't matter," Eusine said as he stood up. "Maybe, if I tag along with you on your journey, I will be able to meet Suicune next time it approaches you."

"Please don't follow me," Jana said curtly.

Eusine nodded. "Okay, I'll find another way. But until we meet again—"

"Which is hopefully never."

"I want you to have this." Eusine dug around in his pocket and produced a funny looking black stone. He handed it to Jana before explaining what it was. "This is a rare rock known as a Moon Stone. Exposing your Nidorina to this stone is the only known way to evolve her into Nidoqueen."

"Wow, really?" Jana asked.

Eusine nodded proudly. "Consider it a gift from me to you."

"Well, thank you." Jana said.

Eusine bowed. "No problem, m'lady."

"Did you really just use that term?" Jana asked. "I think I'm going to puke."

"With that, I bid you a fond farewell!" Eusine turned and walked off, hopefully never to be seen again.

Jana sighed before heading back into town. This encounter didn't help the sneaking suspicion that maybe Eusine and Morty were right, and maybe Suicune could somehow measure someone's worth as a trainer through eye-contact alone. Jana shook her head, berating herself for thinking that a Pokémon was capable of such a feat. It was stupid and she had more important things to do, like gym battles and picking up a sick Pokémon's medicine. Whether or not Suicune knew how great she was wasn't important and it didn't matter nearly as much as her gym badges and a sick Pokémon's well being. Jana headed for the gym, desperate for anything to do that would take her mind off of stupid shit that would never be important ever.

* * *

The gym battle against Chuck was hard fought, and Jana barely won when Casey managed to snatch a victory from the clutches of defeat and Chuck's Poliwrath. The somewhat eccentric gym leader seemed to have no qualms about losing after having come so close to winning and congratulated Jana wholeheartedly when he handed her the fist-shaped Storm badge. "Um, thanks," Jana said. "You don't seem too torn up about losing."

Chuck chortled and patted his belly as he did so. "No no, I don't care whether I win or lose battles. My joy as a gym leader comes from watching strong trainers do their best. You've shown me considerable strength and strategy, and I believe you've got what it takes to win your way to the top of the Pokémon League!"

"Thanks, uh, again," Jana said with a cheesy grin.

"You're one of the most impressive trainers I've seen, since, well..." Chuck started, but trailed off. He examined Jana and finally nodded. "Yep."

"What is it?" Jana asked.

"The way you carry yourself and your confidence in your Pokémon; combined with the love you share with them and the way you're so in sync with every one of them reminds me of Blackthorn's very own Lance."

Jana's face instantly fell. "Wait, what?"

Chuck looked at her quizzically. "Have you not heard of Lance?"

"No, I've heard of him," Jana said. "It's just that none of the things I heard were that good..."

Chuck's eyebrows raised. "What? Who's bad-mouthing the strongest Elite Four member in the history of Johto? I haven't talked to the lad in a while, but I assure you he is one of the most loving men I've met in my many years."

"I see..." Jana said. "Well, thanks for the badge anyway. I need to head to the pharmacy."

"Okay, good luck on your journey!" Chuck said. "And remember: Lance puts on an intimidating air, but if you can get to know him, he truly is a wonderful person."

"Yeah, okay," Jana said as she left the gym. The mention of Lance had instantly soured her mood. "So great, huh? I bet it's a charade he puts on and feels so damn proud about," she muttered to herself. "I bet Chuck's barely even talked to him for more than like a minute."

Instead of dwelling on Chuck's blind trust in everyone, Jana made her way to the pharmacy, where all it took was a mention of the sick Pokémon's name to convince the man behind the counter to give her something he called the Secret Potion. "Give this to Amphy, and within minutes, she should be in top shape," the man assured her.

With a short "thanks," she left the pharmacy and prepared to ride Croconaw back to Olivine. However, she saw that the sun was setting, and her errand was literally the reason she couldn't go back while it was dark. Cursing her luck, she retired to the Pokémon Center. "It it weren't for that fruitcake Eusine stopping me, I would be back in Olivine by now," Jana pouted in her room. "Next time I see him I'm gonna give his frilly-ass a piece of my mind."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Olivine, Jasmine sat next to Amphy on the bed meant for the Pokémon to sleep on during the day. "Don't worry Amphy, it may be too dark now, but I'm sure Jana will be here as early as she can," Jasmine said as she softly stroked the sick Pokémon's head. "Please, just hold on one more night."

Suddenly, a knock sounded from the door that lead to the stairwell. Jasmine's eyes lit up and she rushed for the door. She opened it, expecting to see Jana, but instead found a man with spiky orange hair greet her with a smile. "Hey, Jasmine," he said, shifting his weight and switching which hand was holding a bag in. "I heard you could use some help."

"Oh, hey," Jasmine said, unable to hide her disappointment.

"Uh, were you expecting someone else?" The man said, sensing her sadness.

"Yeah, kind of..."Jasmine said. "See, a trainer promised me she'd go to Cianwood and pick up Amphy's medicine, but now it's far too late for her to come back safely."

"I see," the man said, looking in the direction of Amphy. "I was gonna offer to do that, but it seems someone beat me to it."

Jasmine nodded. "Yeah. I just don't know if she'll make it back here in time. Amphy's gotten pretty bad."

The man nodded. "I see. Well, first thing's first." He held out the bag and motioned for Jasmine to take it. "I got this for you." Jasmine grabbed it and looked inside it. "I know it's shitty fast food, but I heard you've been cooped up in here all day, and I figure there's not much in here that isn't Pokéchow, so I decided to grab you a meal."

Jasmine nodded. "Thank you," she said with tears welling up in her eyes. "You're so nice. Just like Jana."

"Is that the name of the girl who said she'd get the medicine?"

"Yes," Jasmine said.

"I see," the man repeated. "Well, I've got a plan. Pidgeot can see just fine in the dark and he knows this region like the back of his hand...wing? I'll head over and bring her back."

Jasmine's eyes lit up again. "You'd do that?"

"Absolutely! I said I was here to help, and that's what I'll do. I'll be back before you know it, alright?"

"Alright," Jasmine said with a nod.

The man gave her a smile before turning to walk away. Before he closed the door behind him, he gave her a salute like gesture with his hand. "Smell ya later!"

* * *

Jana lounged in the Pokémon Center's main room, eating her dinner, people watching, and thinking about what Chuck had said to her. Lance, a good person? In his _dreams_, maybe. Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard someone loudly call her name. She perked up and looked around, confused. A gasp was heard, and she looked toward the middle of the room to see a tall man with orange hair examining the place. When he spoke again, everyone fell silent, listening to his every word. "I'm looking for a trainer named Jana? You must forgive me, but I don't know what you look like and I need to talk to you outside."

Jana looked around at everyone's shocked expressions. Whispers filled the air, and most of them consisted of the words "_who's Jana?_" and "_it's him!_" But the most prevalent word that found its way into every hushed conversation was the word "_champion._"

Finally, Jana hesitantly stood up and spoke. "I'm Jana."

The man's eyes landed on her and lit up. He smiled and waved at her. "Jana! Get over here! I have something to tell you." Jana warily walked over to him and he nodded toward the door. "Let's get somewhere I'm uh, not being gawked at, how does that sound?"

"Awesome," Jana said, tired of being the center of attention. They left the center and the man took Jana to a well-lit park. Upon arrival, he turned to her and held out his hand.

"Hello, Jana. I'm Gary Oak. You might have heard in there, but in case you didn't, I'm also known as the Champion."

Jana took his hand and shook it. "Yeah, I've heard of you. How do you know me?"

"You see Jana, I was told you're here for the medicine for Olivine's very own Amphy. Is that true?"

"Yeah." Jana said. "It's too dark for me to go back, so I'm staying here for the night."

Gary shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. I came here to give you a ride back to the mainland. My Pidgeot can see in the dark so well, it won't take five minutes to get to Olivine."

"Wait, really?" Jana asked.

"Absolutely!" Gary said. "Now shall we get going?"

"Yeah!" Jana said. "Oh man, I'm so glad Amphy will get her medicine tonight after all. I thought seeing Suicune fucked it all up."

"You saw Suicune?" Gary asked.

"Long story," Jana said, handwaving her two experiences with the legendary Pokémon.

"Right," Gary said. He released Pidgeot from its Pokéball and climbed on its back. "Get on and hold on to me. It'll be short, but if you're not careful you can fall off. Pidgeot isn't always the best about carrying two people."

Jana climbed on. "Okay, but you better not enjoy this!" She said after wrapping her arms around Gary's waist.

Gary laughed. "Don't you worry about that. You're not exactly my type. Not in a bad way, of course. Pidgeot, let's go to Olivine!"

During the flight, Jana managed to have a conversation with the champion despite the strong winds making them have to yell to be heard. "So did you beat Chuck yet?"

"Yeah," Jana said. "My Kadabra kicked his ass."

Gary laughed. "Hey, I use an Alakazam too."

"No, I said Kadabra," Jana said.

"I know. Alakazam is Kadabra's final form. Maybe after you give Amphy that medicine I can help you evolve it."

"You would do that?" Jana asked.

"Absolutely. Alakazam rocks." At this point was when they touched down just in front of the lighthouse. On their trek up the tower, Gary struck up another conversation. "So what starter did you pick?"

"I have a Croconaw," Jana said. "And I think she's about to evolve."

"Awesome!" Gary said. "Water-type starters are pretty popular, it seems. I wanted Squirtle myself, but my best friend got to it first, so I picked Bulbasaur out of spite."

Jana suddenly remembered a conversation she had with Kurt a few days ago. "Your best friend? You know, I think I've heard of her. She's the one who disappeared three years ago, right?" At the mention of the incident, Gary's smile disappeared completely. Jana could tell that she shouldn't have brought this up and the look in his eyes told her he wished they could reach the top as fast as possible. "Sorry," Jana muttered. Those were the last words spoken until reaching the top, leaving the rest of the journey to be taken in complete silence.

When they did reach the top, Jasmine rushed to Jana eagerly. "Do you have it?" she asked desperately.

"Yeah, I do," Jana said. She dug through her backpack and produced the medicine she was given hours earlier. Jasmine took the medicine from her and whirled around.

"Sorry, but Amphy will only take medicine from me, so I need you guys to hang out back here." She ran to Amphy and and poured the medicine into the Pokémon's mouth. Amphy's eyes opened wider the instant the medicine's journey down her throat was complete and the Ampharos smiled widely. Seeing this, Jasmine gave Amphy a tight hug and sobbed happily. "I'm so happy you're better, Amphy." After finally letting the Pokémon go, she ran to Jana and grabbed her in a hug tighter than Jana thought possible for this frail woman. "Thank you so, so much, Jana."

Jana wrapped her arms around Jasmine and smiled. "Hey, it's nothing, Jasmine."

Jasmine looked at her with a smile. "No, it's a huge deal. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met." She then looked at Gary and nodded. "You are too, Gary."

The champ nodded. "Nice to see you smile, Jasmine. Word on the street is that you haven't done that since Amphy fell sick."

Jasmine's cheeks turned red. "Well, I was just so worried..." She wiped a tear from her eye. "But now Amphy is okay, and it's all thanks to you two!" She gave Gary a quick hug before looking at Jana. "I really want to give you the Mineral Badge right now, but regulations state you have to battle for it."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Jana said with a nod.

Jasmine nodded and yawned. "But that will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm so tired. So I'll see you tomorrow for your gym battle, yeah?"

"Absolutely!" Jana said.

"Good." Jasmine said. "Now let's get out of here."

At the entrance to the lighthouse, Jasmine bid the trainers farewell and departed, leaving Jana and Gary alone again. "That was really cool of you," Gary said. "You have no obligation to help anyone, but you decided to give Jasmine a hand when no one else would. Well, I was gonna; you just beat me to it."

Jana smiled. "Gotta go faster next time, Champ."

"I guess so." Gary laughed. "Before I go, I have something for you."

"You do?" Jana asked.

Gary nodded. "It's a present for being so cool. But you gotta beat me in a battle first. It's kind of like the badge situation."

"Wait. I have to beat you in a battle?" Jana said. "The champion? I can't do that!"

Gary laughed at Jana's panic. "I'll be using a much newer Pokémon of mine, don't worry. Are you down?"

Jana considered it before shrugging. "Why not?"

Gary smirked. "That's the spirit!"

Moments later, Gary and Jana were on the beach, ready for battle. The area wasn't that well-lit, but it was just good enough to be the stage for a quick battle. "Let's go, Croconaw."

Gary tossed his Pokéball into the sand. "Houndoom, I choose you!" From his Pokéball jumped a huge black dog Pokémon with bone plating on its back and a pointed tail. The Pokémon howled as Croconaw took a battle stance. "Houndoom, use Smog." Houndoom spewed a purple fog at Croconaw.

"Croconaw, wash that shit away with Surf!" Jana commanded. Since she was right by the water, Croconaw turned and ran straight into the water to her right. She jumped in and seconds later, a small wave was washing over the part of the beach being used for battle. The wave washed Houndoom away, sending the dog Pokémon tumbling towards the town. Houndoom regained its footing and snarled at Croconaw.

"Houndoom, don't get angry," Gary advised. "You'll lose your objective in your anger if you let it take you over. Instead, channel that anger into your next attack. Use Bite!" Houndoom ran at Croconaw and bit her, shaking her around a bit before tossing her towards Jana.

"Croconaw, show them your Bite too," Jana commanded. Croconaw ran at Houndoom and bit its neck, using her strength to keep a tight grip of her opponent. "Now use an up-close Water Gun!" Gary gasped as Croconaw's maw was suddenly filled with both Houndoom skin and water. The water attack sent Houndoom flying. Houndoom landed hard on its feet and struggled to remain standing.

"Houndoom, it's time to bust out the big guns," Gary said. "Use Thunder Fang!"

"Oh shit," Jana said. Houndoom opened its jaws wide and its teeth started crackling with electricity. It ran at Croconaw and bit her shoulder, causing her to roar in pain. Croconaw pried Houndoom's fangs off her and jumped back, rubbing her pained shoulder. "Croconaw, use Surf again!" Jana called. Croconaw backflipped into the water and summoned another wave to wash over the dog Pokémon. Houndoom couldn't take any more water attacks and finally collapsed on the wet sand. Gary nodded as he held up the Pokéball and recalled Houndoom.

"You did good, Jana. I caught this Houndoom a few weeks ago as a Houndour and I've been training him up slowly since. The problem is that he has a bit of an anger issue and I've been trying to knock that out of him. Something about Dark-types, I tell ya."

Before Jana could respond, Croconaw started glowing harshly. Over the next minute, Croconaw went from a short, stubby water Pokémon into a taller, slightly more muscular Pokémon with sweet red spikes and a variety of armor plates on its body. Jana gasped. "Croconaw evolved!" The newly formed Feraligatr roared triumphantly and Jana ran to her to give her a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

Gary smiled. "Glad I could help you with that. Let's head back to the Pokémon Center so I can give you your gift."

"Right," Jana said. "I almost forgot about that." She reached for Feraligatr's ball on her belt, but decided to forget about it. "You know what? You can walk with me for a bit, Feraligatr." Her starter grinned and they followed Gary back to the Pokémon Center.

On arrival, Gary disappeared inside, insisting that Jana wait for him out front. A moment later, he came back out and put a Pokéball in her hand. "I talked it over with Houndoom, and I think he would grow better under your care."

Jana gasped. "Do you mean it?"

"Of course," Gary smiled. "I have too much to do to devote very much time to raising him, so I think he should travel the rest of the region alongside someone who can devote more time to him. And just between us, he'll do awesome against the next two gyms, so do with that information what you wish."

Jana smiled, looking at her new Pokémon's ball. "Wait, shouldn't we trade something for it?"

Gary shook his head. "Nah, that's all yours. Consider it a gift." Gary ruffled her hair and started walking away. "I hope to see you at the League someday."

"Oh, I'll be there!" Jana promised.

"Good to hear." Gary walked a few more steps before stopping. He looked back at Jana. "You remind me of her."

Jana tilted her head. "Who?"

Gary shook his head and turned back to walk away. "Smell ya later, Jana."

* * *

The next morning, before challenging Jasmine at long last, Jana decided it would be a good time to evolve Nidorina into her final form. After touching the Moon Stone to Nidorina's nose and standing back, Jana watched as Nidorina changed into the darker blue, bipedal Nidoqueen. Nidoqueen examined her new body and roared proudly as Jana looked on, slightly unimpressed. "I thought you'd be taller," Jana remarked. "You're still a bit shorter than me." Nidoqueen responded by blowing at raspberry at her trainer, who laughed. "I'm glad you're sassy, though." Jana gave Nidoqueen a quick hug before recalling her and turning toward the gym. "Alright, I have a new fire Pokémon and now, a ground-type, so we're looking pretty good!"

Jana entered the gym and was greeted by a young girl about her age and an older man. They both gave her enthusiastic greetings before the girl explained who they were. "Normally, we'd battle you like every other gym's trainers, but Jasmine told us you deserve to go right on through, so we just wanted to thank you for cheering Jasmine up and wish you good luck!"

"She's a lot fiercer in battle than she looks," the old man warned.

"Well so am I," Jana responded. "And I look pretty fierce as it is."

With one final good luck wish, the gym trainers left Jana alone so she could finally obtain her next badge. Jasmine greeted her with a nod. "I would thank you again, but I thanked you plenty last night, and this is not the time for idle conversation." The tone Jasmine took and the way she carried herself were so radically different from the previous night that Jana almost thought she was interacting with an evil twin. However, the look in Jasmine's eyes, for a second, took on an air of gratitude before switching back into battle mode. She beckoned forth her Magnemite, and when Houndoom emerged from his Pokéball, Jasmine dropped all pretense of the helpless girl she had been previously. At her command, Magnemite attacked with a Thunderbolt that Houndoom shrugged off without much effort.

"Houndoom, use Fire Fang!" Jana commanded. Houndoom ran at Magnemite with flaming teeth and bit at it. The magnet Pokémon floated out of his reach, but it ultimately wasn't fast enough to outrun Jana's newly acquired Houndoom. He took Magnemite in his mouth and let the fire wash over it before tossing it toward the wall. After repeating this attack, Magnemite went down without much of a fuss. Jasmine sent forth her second Magenemite and Jana switched out for Nidoqueen. While Magnemite's electric attacks were useless against Nidoqueen, Jana realized she had no moves that fit her newly obtained Ground-type. Nevertheless, Magnemite the second went down after a few well-timed Double Kicks.

That was when the tables turned dramatically. Jasmine smiled as she grabbed a third Pokéball. "Time for my third and final Pokémon."

"I hope it's not another Magnemite," Jana said as she recalled Nidoqueen. After she sent Houndoom back into battle, Jasmine laughed.

"I'm afraid you'll wish it was, friend. Let's go, Steelix!" Jasmine unleashed the biggest Pokémon Jana had ever seen. Steelix was a giant, silver snake with a huge jaw and several spikes protruding from its body. Steelix let out a bone-rattling roar and Jana stepped back.

"Whoa..."

Jasmine smiled cutely. "Do you wish it was a Magnemite now?"

Jana clenched her fist and shook her head. "No, because no matter how big you are, I'll burn you to a crisp. Houndoom, Fire Fang!" Houndoom ran at Steelix with its flaming fangs that had already bested a Magnemite. Steelix was too big and slow to even attempt to dodge the attack, so it didn't. Houndoom latched onto the behemoth's tail, but noticed that his attack didn't do anything.

Jasmine's grin was wide as she issued her first command. "Steelix, use Earthquake." Steelix lifted its tail, leaving Houndoom on the ground. The steel snake slammed its tail on the ground, causing it to shake the entire building violently. Houndoom looked around frantically before a piece of the ground beneath him lifted suddenly, sending him soaring through the air. Houndoom hit the wall hard and collapsed, unconscious.

"Houndoom!" Jana called. She recalled him into his home and sighed. "That's a uh, pretty powerful Steelix there..."

"That's kind of a given," Jasmine laughed. "Steelix is one of the best Pokémon ever. I have one dedicated to contests too. His name is Rusty. This one was my very first Steelix. She doesn't have a name. Did you know Steelix has the highest physical defense of all Ground-type Pokémon? When you add that to her highly resistant Steel type, she's practically unbeatable."

"You sure pulled out all the stops for little ol' me, didn't you?" Jana said.

"I said I wanted to give you the badge, but I didn't say I'd make it easy on you," Jasmine said with a warm smile.

"I see." Jana grabbed a Pokéball and threw it. "Go, Nidoqueen!" Jana thought that Nidoqueen's ground typing might save her from being wrecked by Earthquake. Unfortunately, she failed to consider that Nidoqueen's poison typing cause the exact opposite of what she wanted, and Nidoqueen went down before she could get a move off.

Jana thought about the rest of her Pokémon and pondered her choices. Which one to send out next? Scyther would be immune to Earthquake, but there was no way that Steelix didn't have a rock move. Casey was strong-ish, but would her psychic moves be enough to take on Steelix? "It's worth a shot, she said to herself. "Let's go, Casey!" Casey the Kadabra sprung from her Pokéball, poised for battle. "You said Steelix has the highest defense of all Ground-types, so let's see how her special defense holds up."

Jasmine shrugged. "Could be better. That is, if you can get an attack off. Steelix, use Rock Throw!"

"Casey, Reflect!" Steelix dug her tail into the ground and dug up a huge rock, which she hurled in Casey's direction. Casey held up her spoon and erected a barrier on her half of the field. The rock passed through the barrier, slowing down considerably as it did so, before hitting Casey hard. Casey fell on her back, but quickly got back up."

"Nice thinking, Jana," Jasmine said. "Raising your whole team's physical defense was a good opening move."

"You know it," Jana said with a playful wink. "Casey, use Psybeam!" Casey's spoon started glowing blue and red before firing a double helix-shaped beam at Steelix. It hit her and she flinched back, but it obviously didn't do any notable damage.

"Use Sandstorm!" Jasmine commanded. Steelix lay flat on the ground like a snake and started slithering around in a circle, getting faster and faster. Finally, a small tornado of sand had formed in the center of her spiral and she stopped her motion, causing it to disperse and send sand everywhere. Casey looked around confused as Jasmine explained the effects of the move. "Sandstorm will hurt every Pokémon that isn't rock, ground, or steel and it will power up all those types of moves as well. Your Reflect might have saved you before, but now Casey's screwed. Steelix, use Iron Tail!" Steelix rushed at Casey with a glowing tail.

"Use Psybeam again!" Jana said again. Casey jumped back and Steelix slammed her enormous tail into the ground where she was just standing. Casey fired her Psybeam at Steelix, who shrugged off the hit again. She spun around and made a second swing at Casey. This time, when Casey made a move to jump away, she flinched due to the sandstorm hurting her, which allowed Steelix to get a direct hit in. The force of Steelix's huge tail sent Casey hard into the wall and she fainted on contact with the ground. Jana gasped and recalled her Kadabra. "Holy shit, dude."

Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest and smiled proudly. "I'm not a push-over like Chuck and Morty are. Me and Whitney? We make you work for your badges. The last female gym leader in Johto is like that too. Though she'll probably not actually like you the way I do."

Jana shook her head. "Okay, I guess it comes down to this. Feraligatr, I choose you!" Her starter Pokémon emerged, ready for her first fight as a fully evolved Pokémon. Jana looked on the matchup with optimism. Surely the sleek blue form of her Feraligatr could outspeed and out-perform a giant, hulking snake monster. She grit her teeth, unsure of whether that was true or not. Finally, she decided she would first do something about all that pesky sand. "Okay, first thing's first, wash away this sand with some water. Use Water Gun and spin around while you do so!" Feraligatr nodded and opened her mouth wide before shooting off water. She did a funny spin or two while she did so, clearing the air.

When Jasmine realized what was happening, she was quick to try to rectify it. "Steelix, use Sandstorm again." Steelix dropped to her belly and started whipping up a sandstorm again.

"Surf!" Jana yelled. Since there were no large bodies of water nearby, Feraligatr used her alternate method of using surf. She produced an orb of water in her hand and thrust her hand forth, causing the little palm-sized orb to explode in a massive torrent of water. The water washed over Steelix, causing her to stop in her tracks and struggle to stand her ground. "Water trumps ground, and Surf's so special, I'm surprised your Steelix survived _that_," Jana bragged.

In response, Jasmine commanded Steelix to use Thunder Fang and Jana's smile disappeared faster than Suicune did. Steelix opened her gigantic jaw and her oddly-shaped teeth started cracklig with electricity. She lunged at Feraligatr, who jumped out of the way just as the giant's maw decimated the ground.

"Surf again!" Jana said desperately. Feraligatr repeated the process of using Surf just as Steelix jumped for her again. The steel snake made contact with Feraligatr just as the orb in her palm unleashed the wall of water. This made the arena explode with steam, water, and electricity. "Feraligatr!" Jana screamed.

"Steelix?" Jasmine called from the other side of the smoke cloud. After a moment of both trainers staring silently at the cloud, A battered Steelix slithered out of the cloud of smoke. To Jana's relief and horror, Feraligatr was rested on Steelix's head. Feraligatr was also battered and bruised, but unlike Steelix, she was showing no signs of consciousness. Steelix struggled to weakly slither toward Jasmine, but finally, she stopped when she fell unconscious. This caused Feraligatr to slide off the behemoth's head and hit the ground.

Upon hitting the ground, the alligator Pokémon started to stir. Jana gasped and ran for Feraligatr. She navigated Steelix's limp body and hit the barely awake Feraligatr with the all the force a speeding seventeen year-old could muster. She wrapped her arms around her neck and squeezed tight. "Feraligatr, I'm so glad you're alright," Jana said happily. "You are okay, aren't you?" Jana pulled back and looked her Pokémon up and down, taking inventory of her injuries. In response, Feraligatr flashed a toothy grin and gave Jana a weak thumbs-up.

Jasmine walked to the two and gave them a warm smile. "Congratulations, Jana," she said. She placed a hand on Steelix's nose and patted it reassuringly. "You did good, Steelix. You may rest now." Steelix was returned to her ball and Jasmine reached into her dress pocket. From it, she produced a silver octagon-shaped badge. "As the Olivine city gym leader, I am proud to bestow the Mineral Badge unto you, challenger!"

Jana took the badge and slipped it into her pocket before giving Jasmine a hug. "Thank you," Jana said. "Thank you for the badge and the intense battle. That was the hardest won battle of my entire journey so far."

Jasmine, surprised by the hug at first, started returning it. "Yeah well, you're not done yet. The last gym leader I mentioned earlier will give you a real run for your money." She pulled back from the hug and motioned for Jana to wait where she was. "I have two more gifts for you. Wait here." Moments later, she was giving Jana two more gifts. "This is the TM I give away for people who beat me in gym battles. It contains Iron Tail."

"Sweet!" Jana said, stashing the CD.

Jasmine produced a second item. This one was cylindrical and plain silver. "This is a Metal Coat. If you trade your Scyther while it's holding this, it will evolve into a Steel-type Pokémon. Consider this my sign of gratitude for helping me heal Amphy. I can't thank you enough for that."

Jana smiled as she took the second gift. "Thank you so much, Jasmine." Jana gave her one last tight hug and departed the gym, ready to take on the next town. As she left the gym, Jasmine smiled widely.

"Good luck, Jana."

One of the gym trainers—the young girl—looked at Jasmine, intrigued.

"What?" Jasmine asked.

"I've never seen you smile that wide before, Jasmine," the girl said. "Do you have a new best friend?" She asked teasingly. "Or...?"

Jasmine laughed, trying to hide a slight blush. "Oh, shut it, you."

* * *

Jana _did_ want to go to the next town, but that unfortunately meant backtracking and visiting Ecruteak again. Dreading this revisit, Jana took her sweet time walking back. The long walk was peaceful and mostly quiet. The sounds of distant Pokémon calls filled the air and the occasional battle could be heard just behind the trees to either side of the path. This quality alone time would have served as a great opportunity for self-reflection, but Jana used it to think about her two new friends. She watched the ground at her feet intently, her thoughts consumed by Jasmine and Gary. The only time she was distracted was when she would find the occasional dead leaf, which she would go out of her way to step on. The sun beat down on her hard, serving to remind her that she had set off at noon, neglecting to eat lunch before she did so. Jana's rumbling stomach didn't bother her much, because her mood was soaring despite the hellhole she was going to be in after this walk.

Gary.

Jana couldn't remember liking a boy as much as she liked Gary. She didn't spend much time with him, and some of it was spent in awkward, complete silence after she overstepped her boundaries, but when he spoke, it was an enjoyable experience, which directly contrasted almost every guy she had met during the course of her entire life. He was strong, both in battle and in presence, and Jana didn't even try to convince herself she won against him for any reason besides the fact that his Houndoom was a new Pokémon of his. She was convinced that when it came down to fighting him, it would be the most intense battle of her life, but she was looking forward to it. She knew her mood would probably be high after kicking Lance's sorry ass, so maybe she would stand a chance by then. Thinking about Lance soured Jana's mood, so she continued dwelling on Gary. Strangely enough, her thoughts kept wandering toward one sentence he had said to her during their first interaction.

"You're not exactly my type. Not in a bad way, of course." Jana had no idea why she kept going back to that line, but whenever she did, she could hear it as clear as if he was still right next to her. It made her laugh at the time, but thinking about it just made her feel a strange sensation she hadn't felt before, and she had no idea what it was. Maybe it was time to think about her other friend.

Jasmine.

Jasmine was such an emotional wreck when Amphy was sick. It made Jana sad just thinking about that tear-stained face, those reddened eyes, and those lips that refused to curl into a smile. The smile that graced her face when Amphy was given her medicine was so warm, relieved, and genuine that it made Jana's chest swell with pride and warmth. Then the way she transformed in battle from a sweet, innocent, seemingly helpless girl into a fierce competitor that wrecked all in her way was admirable to Jana, and it made her want to strive to be even better than she was now, which was pretty fucking good. Her kindness was one that Jana wished everyone would have, and she made a mental note that the first thing she would do as Champion would be to visit Jasmine.

Well, maybe the second. Visiting her mom was first priority. A chance to brag about kicking Lance's ass? Sign her up for that!

Lance again. She needed to stop thinking about him.

Jasmine was beautiful too. Her hair was so well maintained that Jana was feeling like she should have asked what she did with it to keep it so shiny. Gary's hair was nice too, even if it looked like someone could impale themselves on it. Thinking about these great friends she made caused the world to look more beautiful to Jana. She could see the beauty in every tree, every leaf and certainly every flower. All of her Pokémon were beautiful in ways to her that probably wouldn't make sense to others. The colors were brighter and the world didn't seem like such a shitty place.

Jana wasn't quite sure she liked this new feeling.

Thinking about these things caused Jana to get lost in thought. While she was so lost, she failed to see a root sticking up out of the ground. She caught her foot on it and fell forward, hitting her face hard.

"Ouch! Fuck!" She cursed loudly. "Geeze that hurt like a bitch." She sat up and her hand shot to her nose. "What's with me and falling lately?" She quickly shook it off and decided that it was time to get back to Ecruteak so she could continue her journey already.

The problem? She kind of wandered off the beaten path during her thoughts, so she was sort of lost.

When she did find her way to Ecruteak at long last, the sun was starting to set, casting an eerie orange light on the tower that was intact on the opposite side of town from Burned Tower. Not wanting to get lost in the dark before reaching Mahogany Town, Jana begrudgingly decided it was for the best to stay in Ecruteak for the night.

Again.

* * *

END OF DAY 8:

"These last two days have been awesome, Journal! Olivine City is beautiful, and the ocean around it is too. Unfortunately, when I got there, Amphy the Ampharos was sick. I had to go to Cianwood to pick up medicine for her. I saw Suicune again, but who cares. What's important is that I met the Champion! He seemed like a really cool dude and I think we struck it off pretty good! I think we're friends now. Yeah, I'm totally buddies with the Champion. His name is Gary, but I'm sure you knew that, Journal.

"...Uh, anyway, Jasmine, the Olivine gym leader, was nice too. She was so happy that I helped her heal Amphy that she gave me this sweet Metal Coat. That reminds me, I should definitely work on evolving Scyther and Casey. That would be a good idea.

"Oh! That reminds me! Gary gave me a Houndoom! Yeah, see? Totally best buds with the champ. I bet you didn't believe me, didja? Well anyway, Houndoom is awesome. He's gonna be a great addition to this team. I can feel it.

"Anyway, that's two badges to go. I'm so close to being the champ myself, that I almost feel sorry that I'm about to dethrone Gary.

"Almost.

"Anyway, these have been some great days, Journal. I feel happier than I have been in a long time. Maybe that blow to my head fixed something in me that stopped me from being happy. I mean, I'm in Ecruteak and the world still sucks, but hey, maybe I can change that suckage when I'm the big bitch on campus. No, I don't know how I'll do that, but one step at a time, Journal! Maybe Jasmine will have a tip for me... Anyway, goodnight!"

* * *

**Here's the part where things get interesting. Wordy and lengthy, but interesting. Please come back next week to see thing really start to ramp up as we reach this story's halfway point!**


	5. Absence, Rage, Tears

The sun started weakly pouring in through the window of Jana's room and at the sight of it, she groaned and dragged herself out of bed. "Damn," she muttered to herself as she changed out of her pajamas. "I didn't get any sleep last night." She punctuated this with a yawn. "Well, bright and early I guess..." She packed her things and set out.

Her first order of business before leaving Ecruteak was finding Morty. As much as she didn't like him, she knew that he had Pokémon that evolved by trading, so she offered to help him evolve a Haunter if he helped her evolve Casey. Morty agreed and within moments, Casey was a fully evolved Alakazam. Morty couldn't help evolve Scyther, though, because he had some very important business to attend to. Before he left, though, he had to ask Jana something. "You're okay, right, dude?" He asked. "Like, you feeling alright?"

Jana nodded, confused. "Uh, yeah. I'm a little tired, but I'm fine."

Morty nodded warily. "Okay. Makin' sure. Something feels off about your mojo, man, so I figured I'd check on ya."

"Is this a psychic thing?" Jana asked. After Morty nodded, she rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Bye Morty."

"See ya around, Jana," Morty called.

"Sure," Jana said she she turned to go. As she left, she muttered, "hopefully not anytime soon." Jana's trip to Mahogany Town didn't take long at all and the only thing that happened that was worth mentioning concerned the person who needed help evolving their Onix into a Steelix. Jana jumped at the chance and she ended up entering Mahogany Town alongside her newly evolved Scizor. His red armor gleamed brightly in the sunlight and he happily clenched and unclenched his shiny new claws. Not having taken much damage in the two or three battles on the way, Jana skipped the Pokémon Center and headed straight for the Mahogany gym. Unfortunately, the gym was as locked as the day is long. Standing in front of the door was a man who steadfastly refused to let Jana in. When drilled on why, he said that the gym leader wasn't accepting any challenges at the moment and he advised that Jana check out the Lake of Rage to the north to pass the time. When she couldn't get a straight answer as to why she couldn't challenge the gym, Jana decided to begrudgingly head north to check out the tourist attraction. On her way out of the town, she passed a tree that looked like one of those fake Christmas trees her mom would put up around the holidays. "Why would someone put a fake tree outside?" She pondered to herself before shrugging it off and setting off for the lake.

The road was short but confusing and Jana found herself getting lost two or three times. Over the course of the trip, Jana was actively attacked by several Pokémon. Wild Pokémon, in her experience, wouldn't attack her until she approached them first, so Jana figured something must have been agitating the Pokémon by the time she beat the third straight Flaaffy (or was it the first one three times?)

Many people were loitering along the path, also waiting for the gym to open up and taking advantage of the aggressive Pokémon. They were all getting impatient and everyone was open to battling with Jana. One person mentioned a boy with a stupid red haircut who harshly insulted his Pokémon. Jana contemplated feeling sorry for him, but when she saw that he picked a Nidoking over a Nidoqueen, she decided it was out of her hands.

One person, however, mentioned something interesting about the Lake of Rage. "Be careful up by the lake," the self-professed ace trainer warned. "Things are going to shit up there."

"How so?" Jana supplied.

"It's been raining there for a week straight, first of all, and secondly, there's a red Gyarados rampaging in the lake."

"Aren't Gyarados usually blue?" Jana asked.

The girl shrugged. "Yeah, usually. I don't know what the deal is, but be careful. This isn't exactly the time to go swimming."

"Noted," Jana nodded. After hearing this, she set off with her eyes on the sky and sure enough, dark storm clouds were looming over the treetops. Intrigued, Jana made haste to the lake shore. A move that she surely wouldn't have made if she knew what would come of it.

When the rain started pouring down on her, she quickly grabbed her umbrella from a side strap on her backpack and opened it up. Not five minutes after entering the torrential downpour, Jana reached the shore after passing a caped man standing completely still. The water wasn't calm in the slightest. The rain combined with the rampaging Gyarados—which she could hear but couldn't quite see—caused the surface of the water to resemble rough ocean water more than anything. Jana watched the water lap against her shoes silently, thinking about whether there was anything she could do about this.

"I wouldn't stand that close to the water if I were you," a man's voice warned. Jana jumped and spun around. The man who was standing still as a statue had just spoke. He still hadn't budged and the only sign that he wasn't made of stone was the billowing of his cape in the storm's rough winds. "The red Gyarados will attack pretty much anything that so much as makes contact with the water."

"Who are you?" Jana asked.

The man approached the shore and stood next to Jana, staring out into the water. He had spiky red hair which would probably have looked better if the rain weren't falling on it relentlessly. He wore a dark blue jumpsuit with orange accents decorating it and his flowing cape was red as blood. His dead serious expression worried Jana slightly. The way he looked at the rough waters made her think he was about to jump into the lake and start punching at it at any moment. This intimidating air worried her, though she couldn't quite put a finger on why. "It doesn't matter who I am," the man said. "What matters now is who you are and which one of us is going to do something about this mess."

Jana bit her lip. Something about telling this man who she was before he revealed his identity screamed bad idea to her. "If who you are doesn't matter, than neither does who I am."

"Fair enough," the man said. His face didn't change, but his tone of voice said he was amused by her comeback. "Now do you want to do battle with the red Gyarados, or shall I?"

Jana crossed her arms. "What makes you think I'm gonna fight it?"

"Because everyone else who came up here heard what was happening, then turned tail and ran. You went straight for the shore and I bet my right hand that you were gonna fight it."

"Okay, say I was gonna fight it," Jana said, not wanting to give this man the satisfaction of being right. "It's not like you're doing anything. You seem important, so why don't you spring into action?"

"I'm trying to make sense of this mess," the man said. "A red Gyarados comes out of nowhere and starts tearing shit up. It could very well be a shiny Gyarados, which are red, but Gyarados never start rampaging unless provoked. Furthermore, when they do rampage, it only lasts a few hours. This started at sundown last night and hasn't stopped since. So you tell me: what the hell is going on?"

"Like I know," Jana said. "I'm just going on the gym challenge journey, I don't know everything that's going on."

The man nodded. "Yeah, okay. Just know this: Something strange is going down in Mahogany, and I don't think I can deal with it alone. How about you show me your chops by fighting that thing, and if you're good, I can ask you to help me."

Jana shrugged. "Fine. Sure you're not too scared to go into the water to watch?"

The side of the man's mouth twitched and the glint that comes with a smile appeared in his brown eyes. "No, I can watch."

"Good, now let's go." Jana and the man set off, Jana riding her Feraligatr and the man on the back of his own, regularly colored Gyarados. After a few minutes of surfing, the two trainers found the red Gyarados, who laid eyes on them and roared angrily. "Okay, time for you to show me what you're made of," the man encouraged.

Jana grabbed a Pokéball and tossed it into the air. Scizor jumped out and immediately started falling toward the water. After a split second of panic, he opened his wings and started flying, ready to face down this opponent. "Alright, Scizor," Jana said. "Hit it with a Slash." Scizor sped at Gyarados and swiped at it with his claw. Gyarados barely flinched from the attack and whipped up a Twister to counter. The attack swept Scizor away and sent him flying, but he soon regained his composure and zoomed back into battle. "Iron Defense!" Jana called. Scizor, in response, concentrated and made his body harder, increasing his defensive abilities.

"You do realize Twister's a special move, right?" The man shouted over the roaring waters and the Gyarados' roars. "Iron Defense won't help you."

"Shut up!" Jana snapped. "I know what I'm doing. Scizor, use Bullet Punch!" Scizor's claws let off a silver glow and the Pokémon rushed at Gyarados before hitting it several times with a flurry of quick punches. The rampaging beast only flinched slightly and used Scizor's proximity to latch on to him with its enormous jaw. Gyarados shook Scizor like a chew toy before sending him flying away again. Scizor quickly came back, not phased by the attack. Jana stuck her tongue out at the man, who rolled his eyes. "Now Scizor, use Metal Claw." Scizor flew at Gyarados with silvery claws, but the monster dodged this slower attack and shot a stream of yellow and blue fire from its mouth. The attack washed over Scizor, who fell back, obviously hurting now. "What the hell was that?" Jana wondered.

"That was Dragon Rage," the man said. "If it uses that again, your Scizor's toast. I'm helping you now." He clutched a Pokéball in his hand, but Jana waved her hand at him frantically.

"No! I've got this," she insisted. "Scizor, hit it with more Bullet Punches!" Scizor did as it was told and hit Gyarados several times with the attack. Each time, he zipped to a different portion of Gyarados' body to avoid its consistent retaliation attacks. Finally, Gyarados managed to successfully swat Scizor away with its tail. With a clear target in sight, the monster's wide open mouth started filling with an intensely bright energy.

"Oh shit!" The man yelled. "Watch out for that Hyper Beam!"

"It's a normal move, what harm can it do to Sci—" Jana started to asked her question, but was interrupted when the move exploded from Gyarados' mouth with such a loud noise that Feraligatr flinched, almost sending Jana tumbling headfirst into the water. That would have ended bad, seeing as the explosion from Hyper Beam's force cause the water to somehow get even more dangerous. Scizor was frozen in the air and watched helplessly as the intensely powerful attack sped toward it. Jana's expression dropped when the beam exploded. From her angle, it looked like Scizor was hit directly with the beam, and the Steel-type was surely sinking rapidly by now.

However, when the smoke cleared, it was revealed that another Pokémon had jumped in to take the hit right on time. This fat, yellow Pokémon had a fierce look, which looked out of place on such a cute Pokémon. It's tiny wings only seemed to barely keep it afloat, but when it flew towards Gyarados, it moved deceptively quick. "Dragonite, use Thunder Wave!" The man bellowed. The noodles on the dragon's head started giving off electricity before the horn in the middle of its head shot a beam at Gyarados. Upon getting hit, Gyarados roared in pain and slowed down immensely.

Seeing her chance, Jana ordered Scizor back into action. "Metal Claw!" Scizor flew at Gyarados and hit it with his silvery claw, sending the monster reeling.

"Don't get involved," the man snapped. "You had your chance and you fucked it up. Don't let Scizor get hurt by your carelessness."

Jana frowned indignantly. "I started this fight, and now I'm gonna end it."

"No you're not," the man insisted. "Dragonite, use Thunder!" Dragonite's entire body started glowing with intense electricity. It nodded its head toward Gyarados and the little horn shot a huge arc of electricity, bigger than any electric attack Jana had ever seen. The bolt hit Gyarados head-on and exploded, sending electricity arcing everywhere. Feraligatr and the tamed Gyarados backed up, worried they were going to get hit. The man stood on his Gyarados' head and grabbed a Pokéball. "Pokéball, go!" He lobbed it at the unconscious red Gyarados, who got caught without much more of a fight. After it disappeared into its new home, the lake instantly seemed calmer.

"What if I wanted that, huh?" Jana asked angrily as they recalled their non-water Pokémon and made way for the shore.

"You already have a Water-type," the man said curtly.

"Yeah well, you already have a Gyarados."

"That's different," the man said. "The point is, it needed to be caught and now it is."

"Whatever," Jana scoffed.

When they reached the shore, a man dressed in all black was waiting for them. "Team Rocket!" Both trainers accused at once.

The man in black snickered. "So how did you like our little present? Consider it Team Rocket's gift to the rest of the world. We forced a Magikarp to evolve early, and as a result we got a super powered up Gyarados! How sweet is that?"

The man grit his teeth. "You mean the red Gyarados was born from some freaky lab experiment?"

The man shook his head. "No, it was born of an _awesome_ lab experiment! I need to go report back to the head scientists in our Mahogany base. They're going to love this." He turned to go, but stopped in his tracks. "Shit...did I just tell those trainers that our lab is in Mahogany?" He said to himself. "Oh well, at least I didn't tell them that it's hidden in the basement of the building next to the fake tree, so no harm done..." He slowly turned to see that both Jana and the older man had heard every word. "God damn it!" He shrieked before running off toward the south. Jana and the man looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Well, guess I know where to look for those bozos," Jana said.

The man shook his head. "No. I'm going to call the Champion down and he and I will take care of this mess."

"I've taken on the Rockets before," Jana said. "I can help."

"Can you?" The man asked. "You almost got your Scizor killed against the red Gyarados, and you expect me to let you help us take down Team Rocket?"

"You honestly expect a bunch of grunts to even come close to that power?" Jana asked.

The man opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated. "Okay, you're right. Just, let me get the champ down here and we'll talk about it."

Finally, what he had said set off bells in Jana's head. "Wait, you have Gary Oak's phone number?"

"Obviously," the man said. "I am part of the Elite Four after all."

Suddenly, everything about this conversation seemed wrong. "Wait, who are you?" Jana asked warily.

"Why, I'm Lance, the Dragon Master."

Jana glared at Lance and immediately stepped back. "No way."

"What?"

"There's no way I'm helping you with anything," Jana said, her voice wavering.

"Why not?" Lance asked. "Do I...know you?"

Suddenly, Jana's voice broke out into a harsh yell. "You don't deserve my help! You don't deserve to know my name, and you definitely didn't deserve to know my mother!"

"Wha...?"

"I'm not helping you, you worthless, absent _father!_" Jana spat the last word as if it was acid and wheeled around before bolting back toward Mahogany Town. Lance's eyes widened in horror when he realized what was going on, but before he could try to respond, Jana was long gone.

* * *

Jana stood in front of the ramshackle building next to the very obviously fake tree. She stared at the door, determined to dominate her way through this hideout all on her own. Just as she reached for the doorknob, she heard a Pidgeot let out a screech as it landed on the ground. Not too far away. She gasped and whirled around to see Gary's eyes land on her. He waved and ran for her. "Jana! I got a call from Lance, but all he said was that Team Rocket was here." Gary's face was a strange mixture of relief to see Jana and anger at the mention of the Rockets.

Jana nodded in response. "Um, yeah, they forced a Magikarp to evolve prematurely and made a powered up red Gyarados." Jana made sure to skip all mention of her father while she was recapping the day's events. "It's taken care of now."

"Okay," Gary said as he started looking around. "So, uh, where's Lance?"

Jana's face soured. "I ditched his sorry ass by the lake. We can take this place without him."

Gary shook his head. "No, I think we should wait for him."

"No," Jana said flatly. "I'm not working with him."

"Oh, don't you worry about him," Gary said, thinking he knew what was going on. "Lance just puts on an intimidating air. Once you get to know him, he's downright cheery."

Before Jana could make a rude response, Lance yelled for Gary from the gate to the route. The dragon tamer joined the group and shook Gary's hand. "Good to see you, champ."

"You too," Gary said. "Okay so, are we going to do this or is Jana going to tag along or what?"

Lance's expression fell. "Is that her name?" The way he said it was less of a question and more of an ashamed realization that he didn't know her name.

Jana clenched her fists while Gary tried to figure out what was going on. "No, Lance is not tagging along, but _I _will storm this place. You can come if you want to, Gary."

Gary shook his head. "Look, Jana, I know you're strong, but Team Rocket is dangerous in numbers, and who knows how large this hideout really is? Lane and I are going in too. They won't stand a chance if the strongest of the Elite Four is there with the Champion. You can come too, but..."

"No," Lance said quickly. "I feel it would be better if she stayed."

Jana looked at Lance, unable to believe what she'd just heard. "Excuse me?"

Gary shifted his weight to one foot and bit his lip. "While that would be safest, Jana's a lot more powerful than you might be thinking. And don't bring age into this, because I'm only eighteen."

"No, I just..." Lance sighed deeply. "That red Gyarados was powerful. It took one of my strongest Dragonite to take it down. What if the Rockets have other really powerful Pokémon that have been forced to evolve? I...I'm worried for her safety."

"Worried for my _safety?_" Jana roared. She punched Lance's chest, which he shrugged off physically, but his face morphed into a hurt expression for a split second before going back to neutral. "Seventeen years of not a peep and _now_ you're concerned about me all of a sudden?"

"Well, I—"

"Shut up!" Jana yelled. "My mom and I took care of ourselves just fine for seventeen years. I don't need you trying to get involved now."

Gary watched this, amazed. Did she really just _punch_ Lance the Dragon Master? As Jana spoke, Gary started to piece together what was happening, but he needed to make sure. "Lance? Jana? Just what is going on here?"

"I'll tell you," Jana spat. "I'll tell you exactly what's fucking going on here." She pointed a finger at Lance accusingly. "This asshole came to New Bark Town many years ago. While he was there, he knocked up my mother and got the fuck out of there when he learned she was pregnant with me. Now he's _kind of_ trying to make up for _seventeen years of not being around!_" Jana's voice rose in volume until she was screaming those last words. "You leave me and my mom to fend for ourselves and then suddenly you're worried for the safety of someone you only met today! You are trash!"

Jana tried to throw another punch, but Gary grabbed her wrist. He gripped her not too hard, but firm enough to stop her attempted assault. "Jana, I understand you're angry, but violence isn't the answer here. Remember what I told Houndoom the other night? You'll forget your objective if you let the anger control you. Right now, you need to channel that rage into stopping Team Rocket here once and for all."

Jana looked at Gary, who made eye contact. The look in his eyes was dead serious, and Jana felt for the first time that she as truly dealing with a Pokémon League Champion. She swallowed hard and nodded. Gary returned her nod and let go of her wrist, which dropped back to her side. The champ then turned to Lance. "Lance, you have a lot of explaining to do. To me as well, but mostly to Jana." Lance made a move to say something, but Gary held up his hand to stop him. "But that's not what's important here. We're burning daylight, people. We need to take Team Rocket out now." Lance nodded and Gary glared fiercely at the building. He took a deep breath, as if to compose himself before stomping into the building. Lance quickly followed and Jana rushed in after him. They found Gary grabbing the collar of a man behind a counter and demanding to know where the Team Rocket base was.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," the man stuttered.

"Yes you do," Gary insisted. "Now tell us where it is!"

After a few more exchanges exactly like this, Lance noticed something peculiar about one of the shelves adorning the wall opposite of this scene. He walked over and grabbed a box of some generic cereal-like food that had a paper sign in front of it. The sign read "THIS PRODUCT NOT FOR SALE. DO NOT TOUCH!" Lance tried to pick the product up off the shelf and found that it was attached to the back of the shelf by a cable. Pulling the cable caused the entire shelf to shake and Lance jumped back as it swung open, revealing a stairwell that lead underground.

At the sound of the shelf moving, Gary dropped the man behind the counter and smiled at the stairway. "Nice thinking, Lance."

Lance nodded as Gary made his way down the stairs. He looked at Jana as if to make sure she was coming and in response, she pushed past him and walked down the stairs as well. The trio started battling their way through the numerous grunts loitering around the base. No one fought harder than Gary, who seemed to take personal offense to each and every move a Rocket member made. The first floor of the headquarters was nothing but long hallways and lots of battles, but once they made their way down another floor, the layout became more of a maze. One of the first things they found in that maze was a set of steel doors with a device on one side. This device had a microphone and a screen that requested a password. When they examined the doors closely, a grunt laughed at them mockingly.

"You'll never get into that room without the password," he said. "And in order to get _that_, you have to get both of the passwords to our admin's office, so yeah, you're going to be stuck here pretty much all week while we get our plan going."

Gary ran to the man and grabbed his collar. "What're the passwords to your admin's office, then? And where's Giovanni?"

The grunt scoffed. "Is that a cruel joke? We know as much as you do about where our leader went. That's why we're doing all of this. Anyway, I'm not telling. But I will tell you the password to the generator room."

"What is it?" Gary demanded again.

"'Hail Giovanni.' But you can't get in, because it only recognizes our admin's voice. Have fun getting him to say it, punks!"

Gary slapped him before letting him go and storming past him. "Guys, split up and get those passwords."

Lance and Jana nodded and set off in different directions. Jana was starting to cool down from her rage from earlier, but she was still incredibly pissed off and itching to kick some ass in order to vent her frustration. Luckily for her, this place was full of asses to beat, so she mercilessly battled every grunt she could into submission. After another hour or so of searching, she finally found one grunt to give her a password and shortly after, she found Lance waiting by another set of steel doors. There was one keyboard interface on each side of the doors and one had glowing words on its screen, which suggested Lance had found the other password. Jana approached the second one wordlessly as Gary joined them. "Did either of you find a password?" He asked.

"I did," Jana and Lance said at once. Afterward, Jana glared at Lance and punched in her password. It made her sick to type in the word "SLOWPOKETAILS" into the keypad, but after she did, the devices beeped and the steel doors swung open. Jana turned to find Gary, eyes wide and face full of rage. She tilted her head in confusion before turning and seeing who Gary was staring at.

The man was tall, wore a pinstripe suit, and his menacing eyes glared at them from under his receding hairline. The Italian man smirked at Gary, who ran at him and socked him in the jaw with a yell of "_Giovanni!_" The man stumbled back and Gary jumped back to avoid any possible retaliation.

"Whoa now!" The man said, putting his hands up. "I think you may be jumping to conclusions."

"You ruined her life!" Gary yelled, losing his composure from earlier. He swung at Giovanni again, but the older man stepped back.

"I think you want another man," Giovanni said. He produced a pill from somewhere on his suit and threw it to the ground. The pill exploded into dark gray smoke, which filled the room and obscured everyone's vision. When the smoke cleared, someone entirely different stood in Giovanni's place. He was shorter and looked much weaker. His purple hair was shaped like a water droplet for some reason and he had a belt with all sports of weird things attached to it. When he spoke, it was with a much higher, nasally voice.

"I'm not Giovanni. Like I'm sure you've heard, we have no idea where the old man is. I was just dressed as him to give you a scare. I'm Petrel, Team Rocket's resident master of disguise." He bowed and smiled cheekily at Gary. "Sounds like someone's disappointed to see me?"

Gary backed up. "So you really don't know where Giovanni is?"

Petrel shook his head. "One of the phases of our big plan is to figure out where the hell he disappeared to. So what's your beef with Giovanni, anyway? Who did he ruin?"

"Doesn't matter," Gary said. "You're gonna say that password in front of that door whether you want to or not."

Petrel laughed. "You really want to take me on, pint-size?"

"Sure," Gary said with a smirk. He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt and held it out. "Bring it on."

Petrel retrieved a Pokéball from his strange belt and hurled it at the ground. "Let's go, Zubat."

"Is having a Zubat a prerequisite for joining this team?" Lance asked. He chuckled, thinking he was clever, but Jana ignored him, not wanting to admit that she was thinking the same thing.

Seeing the Zubat emerge from its Pokéball, Gary laughed. "You're going to get so fucked, dude." He threw his ball into the fray. "Let's go, Rhyperior!" From his Pokéball came a huge, brown Pokémon with two horns on its forehead and dark red armor all over its body. It roared, shaking the building and Petrel stepped back in fear.

"Oh fuck."

"Rock Wrecker!" Gary commanded.

"Oh wow, he really went all out," Lance remarked. "He brought his strongest team with him."

Rhyperior held its hands up, forming a huge rock in between them from seemingly nowhere. The red-glowing rock was launched at Zubat at high speed. Upon impact, the rock shattered and Zubat was knocked unconscious on contact. The bat fell to the ground and Petrel gasped.

The rest of the battle went about the same. Petrel's Koffing was taken down in the blink of an eye by Alakazam, and his Raticate didn't stand a ghost of a chance against Arcanine. Jana watched the battle (target practice would describe it better, to be honest) with wonder. When all of his Pokémon were taken down, Petrel fell to his knees. "What the fuck? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Gary Oak, the Champion of the Johto and Kanto regions," Gary proclaimed. "Now say that fucking password."

The color drained from Petrel's face at these words. He scrambled for his belt and produced another gray pill. Gary yelled for him to not, but before anyone could react, Petrel threw the pill down and escaped in the resulting smoke cloud.

"Fuck!" Gary yelled at the empty room once the smoke cleared. "How are we going to get into that room now?"

"How do we even know it's important?" Jana asked. "When I took these guys on in the Slowpoke Well, they all left as soon as I beat their admin, so maybe they're all just gonna leave?"

"It's not that simple when it's their HQ," Lance said. "They might not be so eager to leave if it's somewhere they've settled."

"We need to see whatever's in that room," Gary said. Just then, a voice sounded from the rafters.

"Hail Giovanni!" it called.

Gary whirled around and searched the room frantically. "Petrel? Where are you?"

From the rafters came a little black bird Pokémon. The Murkrow yapped at Gary again. "Hail Giovanni!" The bird mimicked Petrel's voice perfectly.

Jana gasped. "Quick! Let's take it to the doors!"

Without hesitation, Gary jumped for the bird and grabbed it firmly before taking it to the large steel doors from earlier. The Murkrow seemed strangely compliant, yelling the words at the door the moment they arrived. The doors slid open with a massive crashing sound to reveal a gigantic generator. Gary, Lance and Jana walked into the room and marveled at the huge machine. "Impressed?" A sultry voice asked from behind them. The trio turned to see two people standing at the doorway. One was a regular grunt, and the other was a tall woman with blood red hair and a big white lab coat on. "That's the generator that powers our forced evolution experiments," the woman explained. It's powered by six Electrodes, and without it, we would never have been able to do what we did."

"You monsters," Lance spat.

"We're geniuses!" The woman countered.

"Admin Ariana," the grunt said nervously. "We can take these goons, right?"

"Of course," Ariana scoffed. "Now back away from the generators or we'll have to make you."

Jana stepped toward the woman with Pokéball in hand. "Make us," she dared.

Lance stepped forward as well. "Gary, go take care of those Electrodes. I hate to hurt innocent Pokémon, but if they stay here, the generator won't get shut down. We'll take care of these guys."

Gary nodded and wordlessly turned to free the Electrode. Ariana made a move to go after him, but a Dragonite emerging from Lance's Pokéball stopped her. "I guess we're doing this, huh?"

"You bet we are," Jana said. "Casey, let's go." Casey emerged from her Pokéball and prepared for battle as Ariana and the grunt sent out an Arbok and Drowzee, respectively. "Casey, use Psycho Cut!" One of Casey's spoons started glowing light blue and when she swung it, an arc of light sped towards Arbok. When the energy beam hit Arbok, it recoiled and struggled to keep going.

"Arbok, use Crunch!" Ariana commanded. The snake Pokémon lunged at Casey while the grunt decided to finally contribute to the double battle.

"Drowzee, hit that Alakazam with a Headbutt while she's at it," he said.

"Not so fast," Lance snapped. "Dragonite, hit Drowzee with Twister." Dragonite jumped in between Drowzee and the battle unfolding between Casey and Arbok. It flapped its wings a few times, conjuring a small vortex. It sent the tornado at Drowzee, who got swept up and slammed against the wall. Meanwhile, Casey was struggling to recover from the snake Pokémon's attack.

"You've got this, Casey," Jana encouraged.

"Arbok, use Crunch again!" Ariana called. Jana looked at Lance, who was somehow paying attention to every aspect of the battle.

"I've got an idea," Lance said. "Work with me and when I say now, command Alakazam to use Ally Switch."

"What the fuck is that?" Jana asked.

"It's an Alakazam special. Trust me, this will work. Dragonite! Charge up your Hyper Beam!" As Arbok charged at Casey, Dragonite opened its mouth wide and charged the insanely powerful move the red Gyarados used earlier in the day.

"No you don't!" The grunt yelled. "Drowzee, Disable!" Drowzee shot the thin blue beams toward Dragonite.

As Arbok was nearing Casey and Disable was nearing Dragonite, Lance yelled "now!"

"Ally Switch!" Jana commanded, less out of cooperating with the plan, but more out of not wanting Casey to get hurt again. Casey pointed a spoon at Dragonite and in the blink of an eye, they had switched positions. The disabling attack wrapped around Casey, uselessly disabling Ally Switch and the Hyper Beam being charged by Dragonite fired at Arbok. The beam exploded against the snake and when the smoke cleared, it revealed a useless, unconscious Arbok laying on the ground. Jana followed suit and finished off Drowzee with Casey's Psybeam and it was time for the next wave of Pokémon.

Ariana called forth Gloom to fight Dragonite, and Casey was faced with the grunt's Grimer. After a single use of Fly and Psybeam, both of those Pokémon were out as well. The grunt quit, revealing he only had two Pokémon, and Ariana desperately called forth her Murkrow.

"Damn, Casey's useless against Murkrow," Jana cursed. She grabbed her Pokéball to recall her, but Lance stopped her.

"Don't worry. Watch this. Dragonite, use Thunder!"

Seconds later, Ariana was completely defeated. She fell to her knees and pounded on the stone ground angrily. "You two will be sorry you ever messed with Team Rocket!"

"Sure we will," Jana said. "We just wiped out your entire organization."

Ariana laughed. "Yeah right, sure. We still have plenty of members, and by this time tomorrow, you'll see what our true plan is. You may have shut down our generator and stopped our evolution experiments, but the biggest part of our plan has yet to come to fruition. You'll see. You'll all see!" She grabbed yet another smoke bomb from her lab coat and tossed it down.

"Fucking hell!" Jana cursed. "Why does everyone of any importance have like, ten of those?"

When the smoke cleared to reveal that Jana, Lance and Gary were the only people left in the hideout, Gary approached them. "That should calm the wild Pokémon down. Good job in that battle, guys."

"You saw that?" Jana asked.

"Yeah, absolutely," Gary said. "It doesn't take a lot to take out a couple of Electrodes. Anyway, you two work really well together!"

Jana crossed her arms and shook her head. "Like hell we do."

Gary sighed. "Okay, I guess it's time to deal with this. Let's grab a bite at the center and talk about this rationally, okay?"

* * *

Later, Jana, Gary and Lance sat at a round table, sharing a meal. Though sharing a meal would be a bit generous of a term, considering the animosity radiating from Jana towards Lance. "Alright," Gary said. "So let me get this straight, Jana is your daughter, Lance?"

Lance sighed and nodded, but before he could say anything, Jana interrupted. "And he learned this, oh, ten minutes before you did? What a great dad," she said sarcastically.

Gary held up a hand to stop Jana from going on with her insults and looked directly at Lance. "So what's the story here? This isn't sounding too good for you."

Lance pursed his lips indignantly. "I don't have to explain myself to a couple of teenagers. I just...I have my reasons for everything did—and did not do. I feel bad about what happened, but I can't change it just by telling you guys the story."

Jana looked at her father as if he had just insulted her personally. "Oh, so you insist you feel oh so bad, but when we ask you why, you refuse to say anything?" The adrenaline from having to face Team Rocket was wearing off by now. It was kind of like getting angry at an injury. The adrenaline from the anger would soothe the pain until things slowed down, which, at that point, would start to really hurt and cause tears. So now that her anger at meeting her father face to face had been expended by fighting the Rockets, she was beginning to feel hurt by her absent father's behavior. It was all she could do to not burst out into tears at this point. Something that Gary picked up on.

"Lance, you do realize what this poor girl's gone through because of this, right? After seventeen years of wondering why she doesn't have a dad, here you are, but you still won't tell her why?"

Lance stared at his food and remained quiet for a moment. When he did talk, it was to try to change the subject. "Gary, why do you hate Team Rocket so much? When you thought you had found Giovanni, it was like watching a different person entirely. And that's coming from someone who's known you for three years."

Jana pounded her fists on the table, spilling her drink in the process. "You were asked a question!" She yelled. "And you answer it by asking another question? You sicken me!" Jana failed to notice a couple of things: everyone in the Pokémon Center hearing her outburst and the liquid from her drink creeping toward the edge of the table. Her cup rolled towards her and fell off the table and into her lap, causing what was left of the drink in it to splash all over Jana's clothes. Jana gasped and stood up quickly, tipping the table and causing Lance and Gary to scramble to save their food from a drop. She turned and ran upstairs, partially to change her clothes, but mostly to hide her tears from Gary.

* * *

END OF DAY 9:

"I HATE LANCE, I HATE LANCE, I HATE LANCE.

"STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID DUMB DUMB IDIOT.

"_FUCK!"_

* * *

Jana didn't remember falling asleep. The last thing she remembered, she was crying her eyes out in a mixture of world-shaking anger and soul-ripping sadness and scribbling angrily in her journal. The next thing she remembered was faintly registering a knock on her door and groaning as she dragged herself out of bed. She heard another, louder knock and was jolted out of her sleepiness by the realization that she didn't imagine it. She opened the door, saw Lance's face, and promptly slammed it again. She turned and leaned against the door to prevent him from walking in. "What do you want?" She demanded.

After a moment of silence, Lance awkwardly said, "I came to see you. I want to, um, give you something."

Jana crossed her arms and frowned, fully aware he couldn't see her. "What is it?"

"I felt so bad about last night that I flew over to Pewter City to get a present for you." Jana was silent for a moment, not phased by what he said. "Look, Jana. I'm so sorry. I'm fully aware that I'm the worst father to ever live, and I could never do anything that would come close to making up for the seventeen years I wasn't in your life, but I don't want you to think I still don't care. Besides, this isn't a useless present. It could be a powerful addition to your team."

Jana perked up at this. "Wait, you got me an entire Pokémon?"

"Yes," Lance said. "I saw your whole team yesterday and felt it could use something a little bit more like a dragon. It's not a dragon, but—"

Jana spun and swung the door open. "I'm interested," she said, leaning against the door frame. Lance's eyes darted to hers as he struggled to look anywhere but at his daughter. This struck Jana as a strange thing to do considering what he had just been saying, but she was more interested in the Pokéball in his hands. He held it out to her in such a way that it reminded her of the Twilight cover except with a Pokéball. Jana shook her head, getting all thoughts of _that_ series out of her head. "So what kind of Pokémon is it?" She asked as she grabbed the ball.

"Er, don't release it in here," Lance warned. "It's a bit big. But anyway, it's a rock and flying type Pokémon named Aerodactyl. I've used one once or twice and they are a very reliable Pokémon."

"I see," Jana said, nodding.

"There's something else, but it requires explaining, and, um..." Lance stuttered.

"What?" Jana asked.

"Can you put some clothes on first?" Lance asked.

Jana looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep and—more importantly—answered the door in nothing but her bra and underwear. She realized she must have changed out of her dirty clothes but forgot to put others on before blacking out. Upon realizing she was standing in the hallway of a Pokémon center almost nude, she screamed and slammed the door in Lance's face once more.

Moments later, a fully clothed Jana sat on her bed as Lance, per her instructions, stood by the door, ready to leave whenever she told him to. In her hands, Jana held two more gifts from Lance. One was a tiny, marble-like stone that a pretty, multi-colored logo shaped like a double helix on it. The other gift was a significantly larger stone that Jana could barely hold in one hand. It had the same logo on it, but instead of being rainbow colored, the entire stone was purple, while the logo was divided into three sections that were dark red, purple and brown. "What exactly are these?" Jana asked.

"They're very special stones." Lance said. "Give the big one to Aerodactyl and keep the other one on your person at all times."

"How's Aerodactyl gonna hold this?" Jana asked.

"I gave it a necklace that has a slot for the stone," Lance said. "Once you've bonded with Aerodactyl and the time is right, you'll know what that does. When that happens, these stones will work together to make Aerodactyl way more powerful. It will take time, but when you figure it out, you'll thank me."

"I see," Jana said. "Assuming an awful lot here."

"I know," Lance said. "I just want to show you I'm going to try to be there for you from now on."

Jana sighed. "You could start by telling me why you abandoned my mom."

Lance sighed, knowing that if he refused to tell, he'd be turned away immediately. "It's a bit of a long story."

"We've got time," Jana said, leaning back slightly.

"You do, but I have a very busy schedule," Lance said. "I have something to attend to today, so maybe I'll tell you next time we run into each other."

Jana scoffed. "Yeah, like hell you will."

"I will, I promise." Lance took a timid step towards Jana and held out her hand. "Can I see your Pokégear?" Jana grabbed the device hanging around her neck and slid it off before tossing it at her father. After punching in a few numbers, Lance handed it back gingerly. "Now you have mine and Gary's numbers."

Jana perked up at the mention of the champion. "What, really?"

"Yep," Lance nodded. "Now if I don't follow through on my promise, you can blow up my phone as much as you want. And if you need to take on Team Rocket again, just give us both a call and we'll be happy to help out."

Jana sighed and looked at the screen of her Pokégear. The two new names on her screen gave her conflicting emotions. "Thanks," Jana said, forcing the word to come out. "I'll be sure to use Aerodactyl."

"She'll be really good against the next gym," Lance said with a wink. "Just so you know."

Jana smirked. "Good to know. You can go now."

"Okay," Lance said with a nod. He awkwardly held out his arms, signaling that he wanted a hug. After Jana stared at him in silence for a moment, they awkwardly fell back to his sides. "We're, uh, not there yet, are we?"

"Nope." Jana shook her head.

"Right. See you later, Jana," Lance said as he left the room.

Jana looked back to her phone. Her temptation to call Gary and tell him about this was strong, but she figured she would just be annoying him. Her next thought was to call her mom, but she decided against it on the basis that she was really interested in meeting this new Pokémon.

She left the Pokémon Center and started making her way towards the Mahogany gym. On the way, she tossed her new Pokéball in front of her and it opened to reveal Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was around her height and, when released, stretched her purple wings wide. The grey Pokémon had a spike on its back and a pointy tail sort of like a thicker version of Houndoom's. She wore a strange black choker around her neck with a spherical indent, obviously meant for the orb Lance had given Jana. In her mouth, Aerodactyl held a piece of paper that Jana didn't notice until the Pokémon opened her mouth and let it fall to the floor. "Now just what is this?" Jana asked herself as she picked the paper up. It seemed blank, but when Jana turned it over, she saw that it was actually an envelope. She ripped it open and found a letter inside. She threw a confused look at Aerodactyl before reading the letter.

"Dear Jana,

"I'm sitting here, in the Pewter City Pokémon Center, agonizing over what to write. It's past midnight and I have nothing to do for the next hour while they work on bringing Aerodactyl to life.

"Speaking of, how do you like it? As of writing this letter, I don't know what gender it is, but I'm sure by the time you read this, I will have told you. This is beside the point. What I'm trying to say is, I felt so bad about making you storm out on us like that, and the only way I could think of to possibly make it up to you was to give you a strong Pokémon.

"Look, I know you've been alive for seventeen years and I've been around for exactly a day so far, but storming the Rocket HQ with you, I felt like we've known each other for years. Like it or not, you're not too different from your old man. Gary thinks so too, though that probably isn't any consolation. Anyway, I could tell you were definitely my daughter from that experience, and though I probably don't have any place in saying this: I care about you and I want you to succeed. That's why you have that Aerodactyl with you now.

"Now, you may be wondering why I'm writing this instead of saying it to your face. You might be thinking that if I'd rather you read it than hear it from me, I must be a terrible father. The truth is, I sort of am a terrible father. I know full well just how much I fucked up all those years ago, and I wish more than anything I could take it back. I know you hate me and never want to see me again, but maybe this letter will find you in better spirits. If it does, I want to ask you something: please give me a second chance. I know I didn't deserve the first one I botched up, but give me just one more chance, and I'll try to be the best father to you I can be.

"Enclosed is a drawing of you. I'm not so good at drawing, but your mother always liked it when I drew pictures for her, so maybe you'll like it.

"Regards,

"Lance the Dragon Master.

"P.S. Say hello to the Blackthorn gym leader for me."

After Jana finished the letter and looked at the picture, she folded it back up, and put it in its envelope. And stuck the envelope in her backpack. She then pulled out the stone and placed it firmly in Aerodactyl's choker, the entire time griping about how stupid Lance is. She could hardly bring herself to say any of it, that is, until she got to "and he's a better artist than me. Jerk."

* * *

The journey through the Ice-type gym was a bit of a mixed bag. While Lance was not lying about Aerodactyl's rock attacks being good, he also neglected to mention that her flying type made her weak to the ice attacks and her rock type meant she was weak to the water attacks from the occasional Seel or Dewgong. Houndoom also failed to stand up to those water attacks and when Swinub or Piloswine would pull a ground attack on him, he didn't last long. Luckily, Scizor's steel attacks could take on anyone those two couldn't. Even if Scizor fell for some reason, Feraligatr could hit Swinub and Piloswine for super effective damage, so Jana mostly cruised through.

Pryce, the gym leader, also fell without too much of a fight under Jana's might. After warning her about how cold Ice Path is, Pryce gave her her badge and bid her adieu. Hearing that she'd have to bundle up, Jana rushed to the Pokémon Center and suited up. Her winter clothes were her favorite clothes to wear because the fluffy clothing made her feel warm and secure. After donning her huge, fluffy winter coat, two pairs of thick pants, and her boots with the warm fuzzies on the inside, she set out for the Ice Path.

On the single, short route between Mahogany and Ice Path, she ran into a trainer who greeted her with "Hey, have you heard of the three legendary birds?"

To which she responded, "I've heard plenty about enough legendary Pokémon to last the rest of my life, thank you. I don't wanna hear about the magic birds you wanna fuck."

With nothing more to be said, Jana ventured into the Ice Path. While she was in there, she ran into a lot of Ice-types, which provided great additional training for the half of her team that performed decently in the gym. The training cause Jana to grow attached to the Aerodactyl her father gave her. As the two grew closer, she found herself wondering when—or even if—those magic stones Lance gave her would activate, and what would happen when that fateful day came.

She had a lot of time to dwell on this, because Ice Path proved trickier to navigate than she anticipated. The slick ice and the boulders laying around were much more treacherous than they seemed and they frequently caused slips, falls and a couple of unfortunate butt bruises. When she finally came out of the Ice Path and into the beautiful, mountain town known as Blackthorn City, she only had a few moments to take in the sights before the sun went down. Disappointed that she couldn't marvel at the mountains surrounding the city, Jana reluctantly decided to retire for the night. Though she got a badge, a new Pokémon, and explored the entirety of a cave (and got the Waterfall HM in the process,) Jana still felt like she hadn't accomplished much. Shrugging the feeling aside, she decided it didn't do to dwell on it too much.

When she was settled in her room for the night, she decided it was time to call her mom.

After the usual greetings and the "how are you?" exchanges, her mom caught on to her odd behavior. "Jana? Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong, really, but um, different." Jana said, not meaning to be so frustratingly vague.

"What's up?"

"So, you know those Rockets?"

"Yes...?" Her mom said warily.

"Well, I fought them again yesterday."

"You did?" Her mom's gasp was impossible to hide.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I had a friend with me!" Jana assured her. "Uh...well, a friend and...someone else."

"Someone else?"

Jana sighed. "Mom, I met him."

Silence, and then a shaky "Lance?"

Jana nodded, but then realized her mom couldn't see her. "Yeah. I screamed at him. Nice and loud."

Her mom chuckled. "I see. Was he surprised?"

"He certainly was. He's been trying to make it up to me since, but it's like, you can't just make up for that kind of shit, you know?"

"Yeah," Jana's mom said. "So what did you tell him?"

"Well, he gave me a strong Pokémon, so of course I took it," Jana said. "But I made it very clear that there's a long way to go until it's even remotely better. And the fact that he didn't try to find you isn't helping."

"What do you mean?"

"Mom, I'm not the only one that needs an apology from him. If he wants me to feel better about him, I'm gonna need him to show up on our doorstep with the entire stock of the Goldenrod flower shop."

Jana's mom laughed. "Did you tell him that?"

"I forgot. It was early and I was tired. But next time I see him, I'll make it abundantly clear," Jana assured her.

"Well, you have fun doing that," her mom said. "I'm going to go to bed. These old bones aren't so great for staying up."

"Okay.

"And Jana?"

"Yeah mom?"

"Please don't get too caught up in holding this against him. Grudges can be nasty things if held on to for too long."

Jana raised an eyebrow. "You mean you aren't still mad at him?"

"Well, thinking about it makes me sad and sort of angry, but if he apologized, I wouldn't demand him to bend over backwards to prove it, you know?"

"I see," Jana said. "I'll try to remember that, I guess."

"If he seems to recognize that what he did was terrible, maybe it's time to give him a second chance."

"Good point, I guess."

"Glad you agree," Jana's mom said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Alright."

"I love you Jana."

"Love you too, mom."

* * *

END OF DAY 10:

"Those Rockets ate shit, dude. Yesterday, they forced a Magikarp to evolve too early and it became a super powered Gyarados that was colored weirdly. It was so strong that I would have nabbed it for myself if I didn't already have a super awesome Feraligatr. Anyway, Scyther became a Scizor, Casey became an Alakazam, and I got an Aerodactyl. They're all pretty cool Pokémon. I also got some neat looking stones with the Aerodactyl, and they're nice and pretty.

"I also got to see Gary again! God, he's so cool and attractive and...uh, ignore that last part.

"I also met Lance. He's my long lost, absent father. In case you couldn't tell from last night's fit, I'm not a fan.

"Anyway, I also got my second to last badge! Only one more to go and I can take on the Pokémon League! I can't wait to show Gary exactly how awesome I can be and knock my father down a notch or ten. They will all bow to my power!

"I also have to remember to say hello to the gym leader here for some reason. I guess Lance is good buddies with them? Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that, in that case.

"Well anyway, tomorrow I'll tell you all about the gym battle, because tomorrow is the first day of my rise to fame! I guarantee it! Nothing short of someone dying will stop me from getting that badge tomorrow.

"Okay, goodnight journal!"


	6. The Radio Tower Heist

Jana was woken up my her Pokégear going off in the wee hours of the morning. She groggily answered it with a tired "Hmm? What time is it? Who's there?"

The voice on the other end was one that she hadn't heard in a long time. Professor Elm, like the last time he called her, sounded frantic. "Jana, is your radio working okay?"

The bizarre, random question was enough to wake Jana up slightly. "My radio? What are you on about?"

"My radio on my Pokégear isn't working," Professor Elm explained. "No matter what station I'm tuned in to, it just gives me a bunch of static with like, faint voices in the background. I wanted to know if yours was doing the same thing."

"Uh, I can check," Jana said. Suddenly, for some reason, she thought of a question. "Hey, how's that egg thing going on?"

She could practically hear Professor Elm perk up at the mention of the errand that set Jana on her quest in the first place. "Right! The egg hatched! Turns out, it's a very rare Togepi." The professor continued on to a very detailed explanation about Togepi and Jana realized she probably didn't want to ask that question.

"Right, well, I need to check on the whole radio thing," Jana finally said once Elm had to take a breath. "I'll talk to you later."

"Right. Good luck, Jana!"

She hung up her phone and switched to the radio app on her Pokégear. The station she usually listened to because it sometimes played her favorite artist was currently completely silent. Normally she could tune in and, if she was lucky, she'd occasionally hear proud declarations of feminism, but as it stood, it was completely absent of both that, the static, and the voices Elm mentioned. Jana played with the settings and encountered station after station of dead silence. Finally, when she found a station actually playing something, it ended up being some wackjob's home made station where he talked about Jesus and the apocalypse, which surely was nigh.

Finally, she landed on one of the more popular stations, which did indeed have static, but the signal must have gotten stronger, because now the predominating sound was the voice. It was an endless loop of a man's deep voice.

"Ahem, we are Team Rocket! You've probably heard of us, seeing as we are the largest group of criminal masterminds in the history of both Johto and Kanto. After two long years of tireless preparation, we have made our grand re-entrance into your pitiful lives. Like the legendary beasts of Burned Tower, we rose from the ashes and are reborn! Giovanni! Do you read? We did it! We've been waiting for your return for two long years. Are you listening? Where is our leader?"

Jana listened to it loop two or three times before snapping out of her curious wonder as to how they managed to take over the radio waves. She browsed the stations and as she did, the message was infecting other stations. After she checked every station twice, every Johto station (except the conspiracy theorist's) had been taken over. She quickly switched off her radio and dialed Gary. He too answered in a similarly tired voice. "Hello? Who is this?"

Jana suddenly felt like she should not have called Gary, because he might not have known Lance gave her his number. "Um, hi. This is Jana. There's a problem."

"Jana? How'd you get my number?" Gary asked.

"My fath—Lance gave it to me," Jana explained. "I think it was so I could let you know if Team Rocket did anything again."

Suddenly, Gary sounded much more alert. "Go on."

"Meet me in Goldenrod, and check your radio while you're on the way. That should explain everything I know."

"Alright," Gary said. With that, he hung up and Jana started changing from her pajamas into more acceptable clothes. While she did so, she debated with herself about whether she should call the other person who helped her take on Team Rocket and finally, she begrudgingly dialed Lance's number.

"Hello?" Lance answered with a voice that sounded much more accustomed to waking up early.

Jana froze up, unable to decide on how to address him. After he repeated his greeting two or three times, she decided to skip the formalities. "Team Rocket's up to something again. Listen to your radio and meet me in Goldenrod."

"Jana?" Lance asked. "Uh, right, okay. I'll see you there."

"Okay." Jana hung up without another word and rushed outside. She shot a disappointed look at the Blackthorn gym, wishing she was challenging the gym leader instead of dealing with Team Rocket again, before letting Aerodactyl from her ball. "Aerodactyl, take me to Goldenrod City."

Aerodactyl nodded and Jana climbed on. The two made the hour long journey to find Gary already standing outside the Pokémon Center waiting for her. "How'd you get here so early?" Jana asked when she landed.

"Pidgeot can fly extremely fast," Gary said. "I told him to book it, so we got here in minutes."

"Wow..." Jana said. "Is Lance here yet?"

Gary shook his head. "Nah, he'll be here though. I tried calling him on my way, but apparently you beat me to it. Good thinking." He put his hand on Jana's shoulder and she couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, Gary."

Gary nodded. "No problem."

Moments later, Lance landed with his Dragonite and rushed to the two younger trainers. "What are you two standing around for?"

"We're waiting for you," Jana snapped.

"Oh, right," Lance said. "Then let's get going."

The first sign that something was amiss came in the form of two people arguing in front of the door to the radio tower. One was dressed in the all-too-familiar garb of a Team Rocket grunt while the other one was short and had pink hair. "Whitney!" Jana called.

The girl turned from her heated argument and her eyes widened. "Oh, you're that Jana girl! How are you?"

"I would be better if Team Rocket wasn't up to no good," Jana replied. With that, she shot a look at the grunt. "Is this guy giving you trouble?"

Whitney crossed her arms. "Yeah. Team Rocket has taken over the radio tower and he won't let me in to stop them! Even after I beat him in a battle, he wouldn't budge."

"Let's see if we can help that," Lance said. He and Gary passed the girls and glared at the man. "Excuse us, but we really need to get in there."

The grunt gulped. "No. The only ones allowed in are Team Rocket members."

Jana joined the two in standing in front of him menacingly. "That's not how this is gonna work," she said. "You're gonna let us in, or I'll personally pound your face in."

At this, the man got indignant. "You think I'm afraid of a kid? Go back home to your gossipy little high school friends, girly."

At this, Jana socked the guy in the gut. He doubled over in pain and the four trainers marched into the radio tower.

"Are you sure you needed to punch that guy?" Whitney asked.

"Sometimes violence is the only answer some people will listen to," Jana said. "We were gonna be there all day otherwise."

Gary leaned in and whispered, "you sure she's yours?" to Lance, who nodded with a sly grin. It wasn't long before they were faced with another Rocket who was guarding the stairway to the second floor. This one was a lot weaker in resolve and fled as soon as Whitney revealed her Miltank to him.

The second floor was a mad house, it was crawling with Rockets and a recording booth in the corner housed a cowering radio show host. The four trainers were swarmed by Rockets, all indignant that pedestrians got into the tower. The second story alone took more than an hour of chaotic battles to clear, and once it did, the radio show host emerged from her booth to thank the trainers. As she said her thanks, a terrible realization washed over Gary and he looked at the girl with a serious expression. "Is Professor Oak in the building?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. If he was, he'd be on the fourth floor."

"Fuck," Gary groaned. "If they get their hands on my grandpa, who knows what they'll do?" Jana could see actual, urgent worry in the champion's eyes and it made her start to fret over the much cooler professor's current state as well.

"Call him," Lance said. "Make sure he's okay."

"Right, that's a good idea," Gary said. He whipped out his Pokégear and started the call while the radio host excused herself from the building. After a moment, the professor must have answered, because Gary frantically said, "Gramps? Hey, where are you?" A moment passed and his eyes widened. "Gramps, I'll be right up! You hear me? We'll get you out of here." He hung up the phone and stormed forward. Jana, Lance, and Whitney followed him, also worried for the safety of the world-renowned scientist. The third floor had significantly fewer Rockets populating it, but it also had a door that nobody could open. After hearing a few jeers about how a Key Card was needed, they decided it didn't matter and pressed on to the fourth floor. They found the booth where Professor Oak's radio show was recorded and inside, Oak was being harassed by a Rocket scientist. "Gramps!" Gary yelled.

"Gary?" Oak said, looking from the man to his grandson. "Gary! And Jana, you are here too? Wow, Team Rocket sure seems to be in trouble now. The current champion, the past champion, a gym leader and Jana, who is probably en route to be the next champion."

"Wow, do you really think so, pops?" Gary asked, completely disregarding the danger he thought Oak was in.

"What, and you don't?" Jana asked.

"It's not that," Gary insisted. "I'm just saying, if my grandpa says you're champ material, you listen."

"I know that," Jana said, crossing her arms. "I have this Pokédex for a reason."

"That is right!" Professor Oak said. "I had almost forgot I had given you one. That would explain why one of mine is missing."

The scientist had been looking on, awestruck by the fact that he was so easily forgotten. Finally, he yelled for everyone to shut up. "Look old man, no one's going anywhere or saying anything else until I get what I want from you!"

At his menacing outburst, Gary pushed past his grandfather and stared the man down angrily. "You'll regret saying that," he said coldly.

"Make me," the scientist said. He tossed a Pokéball and out came a strange, angular Pokémon that made weird beeping noises. "Porygon, it's time to beat down a punk or two," the man said.

Gary smirked. "Yeah, we'll see about that. Arcanine, let's go!" The ground rumbled as a big, flaming dog Pokémon emerged from its ball and stomped on the floor. It let out a roar and Porygon backed up, obviously afraid. "Arcanine, hit it with ExtremeSpeed!" Gary commanded. Arcanine shifted its weight and in the blink of an eye, Porygon had been hit three or four times and sent flying at the wall. The opposing Pokémon fainted immediately and the scientist evacuated the building while apologizing profusely for angering the champion.

"Thanks for taking care of that, Gary," Professor Oak said. "Now shall we move on?"

Gary shook his head. "You should get out of here before you get hurt. Who knows what the Rockets would want with you if they actually captured you?"

Oak the senior shook his head. "No, I am going with you, at least to the next floor. The fifth floor has the director's office and I need to make sure my old friend is okay."

"But gramps, don't you remember what happened to Alexis?" Gary asked. At the mention of an unfamiliar name, Jana cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Who was this Alexis person? Why did the way Gary say it remind her of the way someone says the name of a dearly departed loved one?

The professor sighed. "I do remember what happened with Alexis, which is exactly why I want to make sure my friend is okay."

"Fine," Gary said. "But you gotta promise to get out of here and back to Pallet when we find him, okay?"

"Sure thing," Professor Oak said.

"Let's get going," Lance said. The four went upstairs to find an old, balding man sitting in a chair and typing away at a computer.

Oak greeted him with a wave. "Well hello there! I am glad to see you are alright, my old friend."

The director smiled deviously and stomped his foot on the floor. This caused something at his foot to detonate, sending smoke everywhere. At this, Lance said, "oh dear, not again."

When the smoke cleared, Petrel stood up from the chair and waved at Oak. "I'm not sure who you think you're speaking to, but the director definitely isn't it. Name's Petrel. Glad to meet you."

"Where did you stash the radio director?" Gary demanded.

Petrel grinned sheepishly. "You'll have to win that information out of me, unfortunately."

Gary, Lance and Jana all reached for their belts, but Whitney was the one who stepped forward. "I'll handle this one," she said.

Petrel grinned and the battle ensued. Petrel's team consisted of five Koffing and one Weezing, and while Whitney's Miltank was strong, the physical defense of all those poison Pokémon were visibly wearing her down. By the time the fifth Koffing was sent out, Miltank was breathing heavy and struggling to land hits with Rollout. "Body Slam!" Whitney commanded.

Miltank started running for the opponent, but when she was close enough, Petrel screamed "Use Selfdestruct!"

Koffing emitted bright white light and before Miltnak could do anything about it, it exploded, sending the cow flying backwards. Whitney recalled her as Weezing was sent out in Koffing's place. Jana stepped up and patted Whitney's shoulder. "Let's switch out," Jana said. "I can take his bulky poison-types."

"Right," Whitney nodded. She stepped aside and Jana sent Casey the Alakazam into battle. After a quick usage of Psychic, Weezing was dispatched and Petrel shrugged before holding up his end of the bargain.

"There's a secret tunnel under the city where we've been staying for a while now. I kidnapped the Director and stashed him in there. He should have the Card Key that will allow you to confront our other three admins in this building."

"Why are you so cooperative?" Lance asked.

"Because it's not like you can stop us anyway."

"Okay then," Jana said. "What is your plan?"

"We want to prove to Giovanni that we're good enough for him to lead us again," Petrel explained. "We want him to come back to us so it can be just like the good ol' days."

Gary scoffed. "Well dream again, because if I ever see that man again, he's going down." Gary then turned to leave. "Let's go."

"Wait," Petrel said. He held up a key and wiggled it gleefully. "You can't get into the basement without this."

"Then give it here," Jana said, making sure to sound as threatening as possible.

Petrel wordlessly tossed the key to her. "There, knock yourself out. Please."

The group made their way back down the tower and made a plan at the entrance. "Look, gramps, I know you want to make sure your buddy is safe, but I don't want you coming with us any farther, okay?"

Professor Oak finally gave in. "Okay, I will head back to Pallet and stay safe. You just promise to call me when you find him, alright?"

Gary nodded. "I can do that."

Once Oak was gone, Whitney left as well. "I'd like to help, but I'm obviously pretty useless against those creeps. I'll just head back to the gym and make sure no one messes with the girls who run it when I'm out."

"Okay," Jana said, offering a hug. "I hate to see you go, but you do what you gotta do."

"Got it!" Whitney took her up on her offer for a hug and headed off into the streets of Goldenrod.

"Okay," Lance said. "Let's head underground and find the old man. Those Rockets' schemes end today."

"I couldn't agree more," Gary said and they headed for the Goldenrod Tunnel. In the tunnel was a small shopping venue filled with curious people, gathered around radios and trying to figure out what was going on. Several vendors stood to the side offering Pokémon haircuts and massages, but the point of interest was a big, steel door that everyone was staying away from.

"This door has been here for a while, and I've always been curious about where it leads," Lance explained. "Looks like we get to find out right now. Jana, if you please?"

Jana stepped toward the door and stuck the key in. It turned without much hassle and with a loud, creaking sound, the door lurched open, unleashing a stench of sweat upon the unsuspecting trio's noses. They ventured down and found what seemed to be an underground warehouse with narrow hallways and Rocket grunts everywhere. Before they got very far, Jana was stopped in her tracks by a familiar voice calling her name. She turned around and saw none other than Nicholas standing at the bottom of the stairs and pointing at her accusingly. "Oh great," Jana sighed. "What do you want, Nicky?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "Don't fucking call me Nicky!" He yelled. "God, you think you're so cool, taking on Team Rocket and shit, but you can't even handle them without the help of your new, stronger friends."

Jana stared at the boy's hair and didn't really listen to him. When she saw the shade of red it was, she gasped. She tuned to Lance and looked at him, then back at Nicholas, and back to Lance. "Don't fucking tell me!" She screamed.

"What?" Lance said.

Jana pointed at Nicholas. "He's not yours too, is he?"

Nicholas' eyebrow rose. "Really? No, dumbass. I know who my father is, and he's not some cape wearing fruitcake."

"I am not a fruitcake!" Lance protested.

"Anyway, my father is a weakling and not worth talking about." Nicholas scoffed. "You make me sick, Jana. I'm going to end your little heroic charade right here and now." He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt. "Fight me."

"You can't waste your time on him," Gary said as Jana reached for her belt. "We gotta get going."

"No," Jana said. "This is important. I won't have him trash talk me and get away with it. You guys look for the director, I've got this asshole." Nicholas wordlessly threw his first Pokéball and Golbat sprung from it and into battle. Jana smiled. "I knew it!" She threw the Pokéball she had selected before Nicholas had sent out Golbat and Casey came out of it.

"How did you predict which Pokémon I'd start with?" He asked.

Jana rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Everyone in this godforsaken region starts with a fucking Zubat. You're about as easy to read as a Rocket grunt. How does that make you feel?"

Nicholas growled. "Golbat, use Confuse Ray!" Golbat opened its mouth wide and shot a strange beam at Casey. Once enveloped by the attack, Casey lost her balance and started stumbling around aimlessly. "Now Bite it." Golbat flew at Casey and latched on to one of her arms before she could react. Casey tried to shake the bat off her, but to no avail.

"Psycho Cut," Jana commanded. The spoon in Casey's free hand started glowing and she smacked Golbat with it. The direct hit caused the bat to recoil and fall to the ground instantly. Nicholas cursed and recalled his first Pokémon.

"You may have beaten my Golbat, but Gengar won't be so easy to beat this time." He threw his next Pokéball and Gengar jumped into the fray.

Lance, who hadn't left his spot, shook his head. "Gengar is a Ghost-type, who is notoriously strong against Alakazam's Psychic-type nature, but Gengar also has the Poison-type, making it simultaneously strong and weak to Alakazam. Really, this will come down to speed."

Jana, who hadn't realized Lance was still there, spun around angrily. "Aren't you supposed to be searching for the director?" She demanded.

Lance shrugged. "I'm interested in seeing you battle on your own."

Jana rolled her eyes. "You're just making this take longer, you know."

"Nah, Gary's searching for him as we speak."

Jana turned back to the battle at hand. "Fine, but don't blame me when it does take longer. Casey, use Psycho Cut!"

"Shadow Ball, Gengar!" Gengar formed a pitch-black energy ball in between it's hands and tossed it at Casey just as she sent the crescent-shaped energy blast at it. The two attacks collided in a small explosion. The resulting smoke cloud was instantly dispersed as Gengar's attack barreled through it and slammed into Casey. Casey stumbled back, but held her ground as Nicholas continued attacking. "Shadow Punch!"

Gengar rushed at Casey and punched her in the face in about as much time as it takes to blink and Casey fell on her back. "You've got this, Casey," Jana encouraged. "Use Psychic!"

"Sucker Punch!" Casey stood up and concentrated her power, causing her spoons to start glowing, but before she could do anything, Gengar disappeared. It reappeared behind her and punched the back of her head, causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Damn it," Jana said as she recalled Casey. "Fine, let's see how you like my Houndoom." Jana threw Houndoom's ball and the dog Pokémon jumped into battle with a snarl. "Use your Bite attack, Houndoom," Jana commanded. Houndoom ran at Gengar and bit it hard, causing the ghost to recoil.

"Damn it," Nicholas said under his breath. "Gengar has nothing good against Houndoom, but neither does anything..." He held up Gengar's ball and recalled it. "Instead of watching you demolish Gengar like that, I'm going to switch out for Typhlosion." He threw his next Pokémon out and the final form of that Cyndaquil he stole so long ago emerged with a roar. "Now open up with Dig." Typhlosion burrowed under the ground and Lance raised an eyebrow.

"Where'd you find a TM for that move?"

Nicholas shrugged. "Does it matter? I'll tell you what does: the fact that Typhlosion is about to fuck up your Houndoom." Just then, Typhlosion burst from the ground and hit Houndoom's face, sending him flying.

Houndoom recovered and roared fiercely at Typhlosion. "Don't lose your head, Houndoom," Jana warned. "Use Thunder Fang."

"Smokescreen." Houndoom ran at Typhlosion, but the fire Pokémon shot a ball of black smoke from its mouth, which exploded on contact with Houndoom. "Dig." Houndoom lost track of where his target was in the smoke and stopped in his tracks, trying to see through the dense smoke. Suddenly, Typhlosion erupted from the ground once more and hit Houndoom square in the jaw. This proved too much for the dark Pokémon, who finally gave in to fatigue. Jana recalled it and sent in the logical choice for her next Pokémon.

"Feraligatr, let's go!" Feraligatr jumped out and glared at Typhlosion, who snarled at her. "Use Slash!"

"Double Edge!" Feraligatr ran at Typhlosion and swiped at it with her claws, but her fiery rival was too fast and rammed into her hard. She stumbled back and Typhlosion flinched at the recoil from its powerful attack.

"Waterfall!" Jana shouted. Feraligatr's entire body started glowing blue and she charged at Typhlosion. Water appeared seemingly out of nowhere and by the time she rammed into Typhlosion, Feraligatr was practically covered in a swirling cloak of water. The impact caused a watery explosion and Typhlosion was sent flying into the wall. Before it could recover, Jana commanded Feraligatr to hit it with Surf.

"Smokescreen!" Nicholas screamed desperately. Tyhplosion shot another smoke ball at Feraligatr, but the small wall of water that had been sent its way swallowed the smoke whole and slammed into it, dealing even more super effective damage. A soaked and beaten Typhlosion struggled to get up, but ultimately fell unconscious, rendering Feraligatr the winner.

"Alright!" Jana celebrated. "Good job, Feraligatr." Feraligatr gave Jana a high five before Nicholas called his next Pokémon into battle.

"Magneton, let's go." A bizarre Pokémon that looked like three Magnemite glues together emerged and Jana knew Feraligatr wasn't getting out of this one uharmed.

"Two can play the switching game, bitch," Jana said as she recalled Feraligatr. "Nidoqueen, I choose you!" Nidoqueen emerged from her Pokéball and roared at Magneton, who shook, seemingly out of fear for what was coming next. "Earth Power!" Nidoqueen stomped her foot and the ground beneath Magneton erupted and the electric Pokémon was hit hard with a pillar of earth. Magneton fell to the ground immediately and Nicholas angrily recalled it.

"You bitch," he spat. "Sneasel, go." Out came a small black Pokémon that had a large, red feather and its head and a couple on its rear. Its hands were claws not unlike Scyther and it let out a high-pitched screech upon being called in to fight. "Icy Wind," Nicholas commanded. Sneasel blew a freezing cold gust at Nidoqueen, who staggered back and barely withstood the Ice-type attack.

"Nidoqueen, use Body Slam," Jana called. Nidoqueen charged at Sneasel and jumped intending to land on the opposing Pokémon with all of its weight, but Sneasel quickly dodged out of the way and shot another ice cold breath at Nidoqueen. Nidoqueen shuddered as Nicholas gave his next command.

"Slash!" Sneasel obeyed and swiped its wickedly sharp claws at Nidoqueen, who wasn't fast enough to dodge and ended up fainting after the harsh hit.

Jana recalled Nidoqueen and thought about her next move. "Let's see, steel is good against ice, but so is rock... Aerodactyl, go!" She sent forth Aerodactyl and Nicholas laughed while Lance cringed.

"You do know Aerodactyl's also weak to ice, don't you?" Nicholas asked condescendingly.

"I do," Jana nodded. "But I have faith in her, so we're gonna kick your ass." She then pointed at Sneasel. "Aerodactyl, use Ancient Power." Aerodactyl landed and raised her claws, causing five rocks to rise from the ground. She thrust one of her claws forward and the rocks went flying toward Sneasel. They slammed into it one by one and when the final rock crashed into Sneasel, it was sent flying at Nicholas, who barely caught it.

"Damn you, stop being so weak!" He snapped. He helped Sneasel stand straight and commanded it to use Icy Wind again.

"Dodge it and use Fire Fang," Jana yelled. Aerodactyl narrowly avoided Sneasel's attack and swooped in with flaming teeth. She latched on to Sneasel's head and carried it through the air while her fangs burned into the opponent's head. Sneasel struggled frantically, trying to hit Aerodactyl somehow, but it just coudln't land a hit from where it was. Finally, Aerodactyl dropped it and it scrambled to shoot Icy Wind at her again. "Ancient Power!" Jana called. Five more rocks hurtled toward Sneasel, but the icy attack was not stopped and hit Aerodactyl regardless. This caused the boulders to completely miss their target as the prehistoric Pokémon crashed to the ground. Lance grit his teeth as he watched Aerodactyl get hurt so bad and he had to resist coaching Jana through the battle.

"Finish it off with another Icy Wind," Nicholas said.

"Make her use Agility!" Lance called.

Jana turned to Lance, confused, but quickly shook it off and obeyed his suggestion. "You heard the dick, use Agility." Aerodactyl suddenly sped up tremendously and soared past the attack without getting hit.

The next command came from Lance and Jana at once. "Now use Take Down!" Aerodactyl slammed into Sneasel, sending it tumbling back. While it struggled to recover, Jana told Aerodactyl to use Ancient Power one last time. This time, the attack hit its mark perfectly and Sneasel fainted from the force of it.

"Fuck." Nicholas recalled Sneasel and grabbed his final Pokéball. "Come back out and don't fuck this up, Gengar." Gengar emerged once more, ready to resume battle. "Shadow Ball!" Gengar hurled its attack at Aerodactyl, but she quickly dodged it.

"Use Crunch!" Jana called.

"Dodge it and throw another Shadow Ball at it," Nicholas said. Aerodactyl snapped at Gengar, who jumped out of the way and hit her pointblank with another Shadow Ball. Aerodactyl responded by finally landing her Crunch attack and when she had a firm grip on Gengar, shook it around like a rag doll before slamming it on the ground. Gengar struggled to get up, but ultimately couldn't do it. "God damn it!" Nicholas cursed as he recalled his final Pokémon. "How are you always so much better than me? You're a weakling, why don't you fucking act like it?"

Jana crossed her arms. "The weakling here is the one who had to steal his first Pokémon."

Nicholas scoffed. "Don't you dare think this is over. You only won this one because you had Lance the fucking dragon master to coach you. When it comes time to really prove yourself against someone powerful and you have no one to help you, you'll find yourself eating shit faster than you can imagine."

"What's your fucking deal, dude?" Jana snapped. "You act so tough but you lose to me every single time, whether someone's there to watch or not. You're not the strong trainer you make yourself out to be. You act like you can't get better, but really, you can't get any worse."

Lance nodded. "Once you decide to admit to your faults, that's when you can start working on them and bettering yourself. Jana needs to do that too."

"Excuse me?" Jana said.

"We'll get to that later. Look, Nicholas, was it? You obviously have a few things to learn from Jana, so why don't you join us? Prove your strength to us by helping us take down Team Rocket. That way you can show Jana you _are_ strong while simultaneously getting stronger. How does that sound?"

Nicholas glared at Lance, but finally shook his head. "Fine. I'll go along, but if any of you bozos slow me down, I'll have your head."

Lance shrugged. "I'll take it. Now let's heal all your Pokémon. You guys won't help us with your teams so beat up." Lance quickly healed their Pokémon and they decided to venture deeper into the tunnel to find Gary.

"Why did you coach me like that?" Jana asked as they made their way through the tunnel. "I could have figured that out on my own, you know."

"Yeah, but only after getting hit by Icy Wind another time or two," Lance said. "You see, your problem that I mentioned earlier is that you focus on damage output and _only_ damage output."

"What do you mean?" Jana asked.

"I watched you fight in a couple battles, and while your strategic maneuvers are quite effective, your main goal continues to be outlasting your opponent and dealing raw damage, even if it means taking a lot of damage yourself."

"But isn't that kind of the point of Pokémon battles?" Jana asked.

"Yes, but if you could effectively avoid more damage, you'll lose a lot fewer Pokémon," Lance said. "Maybe some time I can show you some good strategies, but for now, you should try to think of some yourself."

"I can try," Jana said. Another moment of awkward silence passed before she spoke again. "Um, I guess I should say thanks."

"What for?" Lance asked.

"For helping out back there."

"It was nothing," Lance assured her.

Nicholas scoffed, making his displeasure at the situation known. God, why did Lance have to invite _him_ along? It was like he was trying to make today suck for Jana the best he could. She shook it off just as they happened along a confused Gary. He was studying a set of three buttons intently and was surprised to see everyone. "Oh, hey guys. I see you brought the guy who held you up with you. Does he know how this shit works?"

"He's not a Rocket," Jana explained.

Nicholas growled. "Of course I'm not. I hate them just as much as you do."

"Well that's a damn shame," Gary said. "If he was, maybe he'd be able to help out with this." He motioned toward three buttons. One was red, one was green and the last one was blue. Then the champion pointed at a small door on the opposite wall. "There's a maze out beyond that door, and the buttons here change the maze around. I guess there's some sort of pattern I have to press them in?"

Lance nodded. "I see. I'll be right back." With that, the dragon master excused himself from the room. Jana, Nicholas, and Gary looked at each other with confused looks and stood in silence for a few moments. Suddenly, the ground rumbled and a muffled roar could be heard from the other room. A scream echoed through the halls and minutes later, Lance came back in dragging a grunt in with him by her collar. He pointed at the buttons. "Okay, which order do we press them in?"

Panicked, the grunt yelled, "blue, green, red! Please don't hurt me."

"That'll do." The grunt was unceremoniously dropped on the floor, after which she scrambled out of the room. Lance nodded at Gary, who laughed.

"I didn't think you had that in you, dude," the younger champion said.

Lance shrugged. "I did what I had to do."

Jana looked at her dad, dumbfounded. "What the fuck. That's something _I'd_ do."

Lance nodded towards his daughter. "Yeah, family members do similar things sometimes. Shocker, eh?"

Jana narrowed her eyes. "Your sarcasm isn't appreciated."

Nicholas rolled his eyes. "Oh my god can we cut the banter and get this over with already?"

"Right," Gary nodded. He clicked the buttons in the order the grunt specified and after hearing the rumbling of doors opening and closing, the four trainers went through the door into the maze. After about ten minutes of navigating the maze, they found a door that lead into another huge room. This room had cardboard boxes everywhere, some of which were stacked nearly to the ceiling.

"Where the hell are we?" Jana wondered aloud as the group examined the box maze.

"Beats me," Gary said, "but if the director's here, we're in the right place."

Everyone else nodded agreement and, within minutes, they found a familiar old man, tied up and left to rot in the forest of cardboard. Jana ran to him and untied him before helping him up. He brushed himself off and thanked everyone present earnestly before explaining what happened. "Someone in that despicable group disguised himself as my old buddy Professor Oak and tricked me into following him into the tunnel. They stole one of my Card Keys."

"Yeah, about that," Jana said. "We're gonna need another one. The remaining admins of Team Rocket holed themselves up behind the door that needs the Card Key."

"If you can beat them, I bet you'd clear the building," the director said.

"Yes, but we can't do that without the Card Key," Jana replied.

The director nodded slowly before digging around in his pocket and finally producing something that resembled a credit card. He handed it to his rescuers and said, "good luck."

"Let's get you out of here," Gary said.

"Hold on," the director said, putting his hand up. "I have something else for you." He rummaged through his coat pocket and produced a small, brown bell. "This is the Clear Bell."

"Doesn't look very clear to me," Jana remarked, examining the bell closely and attempting to see through it.

"Well, obviously it's not very clear right now, but legend has it that if someone recognized by a certain Pokémon rings this bell, its sound will be heard throughout the region and it will summon the legendary North Wind." The director tried to ring the bell, but received no sound. "I'm obviously not a trainer, so there's no way I can be recognized by this Pokémon. However, I have a feeling in my gut that one of you will be able to ring this bell."

"Um, thanks, I guess?" Lance said. "We really don't have time to be talking about legends."

The man turned to Jana, the only one still paying attention. "Please, young lady. I have a feeling that one of you can activate this. Can you please hold on to it until the time is right?"

Jana thought about it and finally shrugged. "I don't see why not." She grabbed the bell and was tempted to try to ring it, but finally just stuffed it in her backpack. "_Now_ let's get out of here."

The group of five found their way out of the Goldenrod Tunnel and, after Gary sent a call to his grandfather about the director's safety, the four trainers made their way to the fourth floor of the radio tower. Jana stood in front of the huge metal door and slid the card key in and out of a slot, which caused the door to slowly open. Behind the door stood a familiar face from the Slowpoke Well. Proton's face was hopeful, but when his eyes landed on the group of non-Rockets, his expression became one of disdain.

His eyes landed on the girl who stopped his plans in Azalea Town and he scowled. "Oh, you're the bitch who ruined my plans to sell Slowpoke tails. What are you doing here?"

At the expletive, Lance and Jana both stepped forward menacingly. "Don't call her a bitch, you punk," Lance threatened. Jana, who was going to say something along the same lines, looked at Lance with a raised eyebrow. Before she could protest, Lance grabbed a ball from his belt and held it at arm's length.

The Rocket admin smirked and grabbed his own Pokéball. "Challenge accepted. Go, Golbat!"

As he tossed the ball and a Golbat came out, Jana elbowed Nicholas teasingly. "See? I so told you."

"Charizard, let's do this." Lance's Pokéball unleashed a red dragon with a fire-tipped tail. Charizard roared menacingly before jumping into battle. "Use Dragon Claw." Blue fire enveloped the fire Pokémon's claws and it swatted at Golbat, who took the full force of the blow. Golbat couldn't withstand Charizard's might and fainted without much struggle.

Proton growled as he recalled it. "Fine, let's see how you like Weezing."

Once Weezing was out of its ball, Charizard was instantly attacking. After receiving the command to use Air Slash, It flapped its wings hard and sent several sickle-shaped gusts of wind in Weezing's direction. The poison Pokémon withstood those, but just barely.

"Sludge!" Proton yelled. Weezing barfed a ball of purple gunk in Charizard's direction, but the dragon master's Pokémon moved out of the way and let it hit the floor with a disgusting sound.

"Flame Burst," Lance commanded. Charizard opened its mouth wide and shot a small, pill-shaped fireball at Weezing. The small attack hit Weezing and exploded, sending flaming embers everywhere. Weezing fell to the ground unconscious and Proton fell to his knees.

"How are you so powerful?" He asked, awestruck.

"Next time you think up a 'genius plan,' you should probably account for the champion and Lance the Dragon Master trying to stop you," Lance said, using finger quotes on the words genius plan.

Proton punched the floor in anger and the four trainers made their way past him. On the next floor, they were greeted by the red-head admin Ariana. She smiled at Nicholas and waved at him. "My my, looks like the group of annoying kids got a fourth member."

"I'm not a kid," Lance protested.

"Every group of kids needs a chaperone, honey," Ariana said. "Now don't interrupt. I'm speaking with the boy."

"Don't speak," Nicholas said. "Just let us through."

Ariana's smile grew malicious. "Not so fast, kiddo. I can't let the club have a new addition without testing his strength." She grabbed a Pokéball and threw it, revealing her Arbok. "Now if you lose, you all have to get out of here."

Nicholas frowned and grabbed a Pokéball as well. "Fine, but if we win, you'll never speak to me again. Go, Magneton."

Magneton emerged and Ariana bit her lip. "Fine, if you want to play it that way, we'll play dirty. Arbok, use Fire Fang!" Arbok lunged at Magneton with a flaming mouth and latched on, causing the magnet Pokémon to cry out in pain.

"Why does everything learn Fire Fang?" Jana asked rhetorically.

Gary shrugged. "Seems kind of cheap if you ask me."

"Magneton, use Thundershock," Nicholas said, keeping a steady head in the situation. Magneton electrocuted Arbok, who couldn't escape in time to avoid the electricity. The attack was enough to loosen Arbok's grip on the magnet Pokémon, so it shook the snake off of it and floated back. "Now use Spark." Magneton became cloaked in electricity and rammed into Arbok, who recoiled.

"Crunch!" Ariana yelled. Arbok snapped at Magneton, who barely avoided its sharp fangs. Another usage of Spark later and Arbok was sprawled out on the ground, unable to battle. Ariana then sent out her next Pokémon. "You may have been able to beat Arbok, but try using that electricity on Vileplume and see where that gets you." Vileplume was a short, dark blue Pokémon with a huge red flower on its head.

"Fine, brag about it," Nicholas said as he bid Magneton to return. "I'll switch out too. Typhlosion, I choose you!"

"Shit."

"Typhlosion, use Flame Charge." Typhlosion got down on all fours and rushed at Vileplume, creating a vortex of fire around it as it did so.

"Vileplume, use Sleep Powder!" Ariana shouted. The opening in the middle of Vileplume's head-flower opened and shot a cloud of green powder at Typhlosion. The fire Pokémon charged through the cloud and the spores burned up before they could have any effect on their target. Typhlosion slammed into Vileplume and that was the end of that. As Ariana recalled her second Pokémon, Typhlosion stood up and shook its head, preparing for its next opponent. Ariana sighed and waved Nicholas off. "I do have one more Pokémon, but I assume you have an entire team still, so what's the point in even trying? You keep going, Nicholas." As she said this, she pushed past the four trainers and made her way to the stairs.

"Wait," Nicholas said. "How do you know my name?"

Ariana laughed. "I'd love to tell you, sweetie, but you made me promise not to talk to you again. Go on, try to stop Archer. He'll make sure you regret ever messing with us. Toodles!"

Nicholas shook his head and returned Typhlosion to its ball without a word.

"What, no 'good job' or 'congratulations?'" Lance asked.

"Nah," Nicholas said. "Typhlosion knows its good without my coddling it."

"You don't even know its gender?" Gary asked.

Nicholas shook his head. "Why does it matter?"

"You should show your Pokémon more love," Lance said. "They're stronger that way."

"Don't you fucking coach me, okay?" Nicholas said. "You get strong your way and I get strong my way. I don't need anyone telling me how to train my Pokémon. Now let's get this over with, yeah?"

Without another word, the group of four moved on. Instead of a stairway leading to the next floor, there was a small elevator, just big enough to hold everyone. They squeezed in and awkwardly waited for the elevator to ascend. During the trip, Jana had to ask her father something. "Why did you stand up for me back there? I could have handled him just as easily as you did."

"Because, you can't insult someone close to me like that without facing the consequences."

"But why do you care so much? You can't just not be there for seventeen years and then suddenly start caring."

Lance sighed. "I know, but I did start caring, and that's that."

Jana shrugged. "Whatever." Before anything else could be said, the elevator door opened and they stepped into a huge, round room, the walls of which were made entirely of glass. The elevator was embedded in the central pillar holding the whole thing up. Jana looked around the room and felt a chill go down her spine. Something told her this would be a very important room.

"Welcome to the observation tower," a deep voice said from the other side of the pillar. The four trainers rounded the pillar and saw a man with teal hair and a white suit looking down on Goldenrod City. "I was expecting some more...familiar company. I was hoping Giovanni would find this rendezvous point free of meddlers, so unfortunately, I'll have to dispose of you before he arrives." The man turned around and shot a nasty look at the four trainers. "No hard feelings."

"Well that's fucking ominous," Jana remarked.

The man that Ariana referred to Archer earlier smiled. "I do enjoy beating down the spunky ones." He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt and threw it to the ground. "Houndour, let's go."

A small version of Houndoom appeared. With less bone plating and no horns, this Pokémon was cute, but its fierce look gave Jana the chills. Jana grabbed a Pokéball and sent Nidoqueen into battle. "Earth Power, Nidoqueen!"

"Now that just won't do," Archer said. "Houndour, use Roar!" Houndour dodged the erupting ground at its feet and roared savagely at Nidoqueen. This roar caused the Pokémon to disappear inside its ball, and in return, Aerodactyl was dragged out. "Damn it," Archer said through gritted teeth.

"I have so many fire counters that trying to play Roar roulette would end badly for you every time," Jana said. "Now Aerodactyl, use Ancient Power!" Aerodactyl hurled five rocks at Houndour, four of which hit it directly while one bounced off the glass harmlessly. Houndour skidded backwards, trying to hold its ground against the supper effective attack.

"Houndour, use Crunch," Archer commanded.

"Agility, and then use your own Crunch attack!"

Houndour ran at Aerodactyl, who sped past it before it could bite it. She turned around and flew at Houndour quickly. She bit Houndour and lifted it off the ground. She landed in front of her trainer before turning around and tossing Houndour in Archer's direction. The puppy Pokémon landed at the admin's feet and could not manage to stand up. Archer scowled before switching Houndour out. His next Pokémon was a familiar face. Koffing burped in Aerodactyl's general direction and Jana decided she would switch out too, after she congratulated Aerodactyl, of course.

"Casey, let's do this!"

"Koffing, use SmokeScreen." Koffing hurled a black ball of smoke, which exploded on contact with Casey.

Instead of fumbling through the smoke, Jana decided it was time to use a move she had read about on her Pokédex, but never considered using. "Casey, use Miracle Eye." Casey closed her eyes and concentrated hard. This allowed her to see through the smoke and target Koffing. "Now use Psycho Cut!" Casey swung her spoon and the purple arc-shaped energy slammed into Koffing, sending the Pokémon slamming into the wall.

The loud noise of the impact drowned out the sound of the elevator doors opening on the other side of the pillar.

Archer recalled his Pokémon and grabbed his third Pokéball as Jana congratulated Casey and withdrew her as well. "Don't let those first two weaklings fool you, my third Pokémon will show you just how strong I am."

However, before Archer could call forth his last Pokémon, a deep, booming voice sounded, causing everyone to freeze in place. "That will be quite enough of that, Archer."

Archer's eyes widened and everyone spun around to see who the new arrival was. Jana vaguely recognized his tall, balding form and his expensive, pinstripe suite. Gary and Nicholas gasped while Archer pushed past everyone and ran to him. "Giovanni! Sir, you came!" He said as he bowed to his leader.

Jana's eyes widened. So this was him. The fabled leader that Team Rocket had been looking for for so long was finally standing before them. Why was he back? Why now? Why did Nicholas and Gary seem so shaken by this revelation?

Giovanni nodded at Archer before looking past him and at the four trainers standing before him. "Lance. Hello there, old friend."

"Old friend?" Jana demanded.

"This was before he went south," Lance clarified.

Giovanni's eyes landed on Jana. They made eye contact and suddenly Jana felt like nothing in the world would ever be happy again. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to get herself as far away from this man as possible, even if it meant busting out of that glass and jumping off the building. "A new face, how lovely," Giovanni said. "And the Champion. Hello there, Gary. I haven't seen you since you barged into my gym and accused me of murder." Gary remained silent, but stared at Giovanni in a silent rage. If looks could kill, Giovanni would have dropped dead right there. "Who's the new girl? Did you need a replacement for dear, sweet Alexis?"

Gary's silent anger finally burst forth. With a feral scream, Gary ran at Giovanni and swung at him. Giovanni stepped back, dodging the punch before gently pushing Gary back. He stumbled just enough to trip over Archer's bowing form. The champion fell on his ass and Jana stepped forward. "Gary!" She yelled.

"Stay back!" Gary snarled. "This man's a cold-blooded murderer."

Suddenly, something snapped in Jana's head. Now it all made sense: Gary's blind hatred for Giovanni, why he was always first in line to stop the Rockets and why he would never talk about Alexis. "Wait, Giovanni killed Alexis?"

Giovanni threw his head back and laughed a laugh that made Jana want to curl up in the corner and cry; if the observation deck had any corners, that is. "Oh no no, I would never kill someone so young, She had her whole life ahead of her, and who would I be to rob her of that? No no, when she tried to stop us three years ago, I killed her mother instead."

A sentence that caused Nicholas to gasp, but one that caused Jana to scream. "_What the fuck?_ Why would you _do_ such a thing?"

Giovanni smiled an evil smile. "That's none of your business, unless of course you want to join Alexis in her comfortable, padded room."

Jana stepped back, absorbing this information. Before anyone could respond, Nicholas stepped forward. His head was hung low as he took two or three steps toward the man, Jana wanted to reach out and stop him, but something kept her from doing that. She suspected it was the fact that she didn't, under any circumstances, want to take another step closer to Giovanni. Nicholas uttered one word that cause everyone in the room to gasp loudly. "Father."

Giovanni looked down on the red-head and smiled. "Hello there, Nicky."

"Don't call me that!" Nicholas snapped. "You don't deserve the honor of calling me that. You leave me to be babysat by grunts my entire life and then one day you just leave? Why? And where the fuck did you go?"

Giovanni held a hand up amid Nicholas' continued onslaught of questions. "Now now. All will be explained. First of all..." Giovanni kicked Archer. "Get up."

Archer scrambled to his feet. "Uh, right sir. Did you see? We took the radio tower, and we organized it ourselves." The man who was so composed before he started battling was now stuttering and sounded more akin to a child seeking his parents' approval.

Giovanni shook his head. "Yes, I did see, and that's the problem. Team Rocket was always about being sneaky and quiet about our takeovers. My strict regimen of not drawing attention to ourselves was the sole reason I held my position as gym leader for so long. I do appreciate your efforts in trying to get me to rejoin, but Team Rocket's services will no longer be necessary. I can do what I set out to achieve without anyone's assistance now."

"Wh-what?"

Giovanni pushed Archer to the side. "Nicky. When I left you two years ago, I told you it was to become stronger. Team Rocket is weak and I can't do what I aspire to do with them holding me back." As he said this, Jana was starting to see many similarities between Giovanni and his son, including a specific look in their eyes and their hatred for weakness. "I traveled to a far-away region to hone my skills and train my newest Pokémon. No hard feelings, but as you were, you would have just held me back too."

Nicholas growled. "Now just what is so important that it required you to leave your only son behind?"

Giovanni held up a Pokéball. This ball was different from any ball Jana had ever seen before. It was purple on the top with two bright pink circles on either side of a white M. "World Domination," Giovanni said simply. "And now, after two long years of intense training, this Pokémon and I are going to conquer this world. Now you can stand by my side as I rule, or you can try to stop me and get stomped beneath my boot like these other three trainers are about to be."

Nicholas looked at the trio, and then back at his father. He seemed to hesitate before violently shaking his head. "You claim that your goal was to become stronger, but as a father, abandoning your son was the weakest thing you possibly could have done. I hate you!" This harsh rhetoric caused Lance to flinch a bit, and Jana felt slightly sorry for him before shaking it off and getting angry at Giovanni all over again. It was one thing to abandon your child before they were even born, but watching your child grow up under the care of someone else and then just disappearing? That was beyond despicable.

Giovanni smiled and shook his head. "Fine then. But you'll regret it."

"Like hell he will," Gary snapped. "There's no way you can take all four of us. Lance and I have been champions and Jana's champ material. You can't beat us no matter what's in that Master Ball."

"How did you even get that?" Lance asked.

"I have my ways," Giovanni said. "And trust me, this Pokémon will make you eat those words." He tossed the ball to the ground, where it opened up to reveal the strongest Pokémon Jana had ever seen. The tall Pokémon was mostly gray except for it's huge, long tail, which was a dark purple. It pointed at the four trainers with its three stubby fingers and growled. The presence of this Pokémon caused Jana to feel a crushing pressure on her chest. Her breathing got heavy and she broke out into a cold sweat. When Giovanni said this Pokémon was powerful, he wasn't exaggerating in the slightest.

Lance fell to his knees at the sight of this impossibly powerful Pokémon. He then tried to stutter out its name, but failed to do so. "No way... M-M-M..."

"Mewtwo?"Giovanni supplied. "Why yes, it is the legendary clone of Mew. This Pokémon was created to be the single strongest Pokémon on the planet, but the only way to keep its immense power under control was to capture it. However, it could not be contained by any regular Pokéball. Only the Silph Co. produced, experimental Master Ball could capture this Pokémon."

Lance's eyes widened. "Wait, you said you left to train abroad. Did you, by chance go to Kalos?"

Giovanni nodded toward Mewtwo. It wore a black wrist band, which held a glowing, bright purple stone in the middle. Lance gasped at this and Giovanni laughed. "So, are you going to surrender now, or will I have to beat you into submission?"

Nobody said anything and, for a terrifying moment, Jana thought her three companions were all going to quit in the face of this immense power. The mere thought of having to face this beast alone was too much to bear and she almost lost her balance. Finally, Gary stood up and grabbed a Pokéball. "No. We're not going to let this happen. If you're so strong, prove it. Mewtwo may be powerful, but if we all work together and our Pokémon put in all they have, we can defeat you and your invincible God-Pokémon. We may not be strong enough individually, but all four of us together will take you down!"

Gary's speech was enough to lift everyone's spirits, but especially that of Jana, who whispered, "god, he's hot..."

She shook out of her admiration and grabbed a Pokéball. Lance, Jana, Gary, and Nicholas threw their Pokéballs and out came Charizard, Feraligatr, Venusaur, and Typhlosion.

Giovanni laughed. "How adorable, everyone's using their starter Pokémon. It'd be heartwarming if it weren't so tragic. Mewtwo, it's time for you to show off just how powerful we've gotten over those two years."

The four combatants shared a look with one another before turning their aggressions toward Giovanni. The Rocket boss gave them an evil smile, and the battle to decide Johto's fate began.


	7. Vs Mewtwo

Four attack orders were given at once. Venusaur was told to use Petal Blizzard, Charizard to use Flare Blitz, Typhlosion to use Flame Charge, and Feraligatr was commanded to use Waterfall. All four Pokémon charged at an unimpressed Mewtwo. "Barrier!" Giovanni yelled. Mewtwo raised its hands and a dome materialized around it. Its attackers hit the barrier and were sent flying back, their attacks rendered useless. "Now use Thunder on that Feraligatr," Giovanni said.

"Dodge it and use Surf!" Jana yelled desperately. Mewtwo's hand started crackling with electricity and it fired a shot at Feraligatr. She jumped out of the way, causing the attack to explode on the ground and threw her own attack at Mewtwo. The Pokémon nimbly dodged the wall of water without breaking a sweat. Gary turned to Jana.

"Don't use any water moves for the next couple of moves, alright? I'm gonna support these fire-types."

"Got it," Jana said.

Gary nodded and turned to his starter. "Venusaur, use Sunny Day." The large, wart-dotted toad Pokémon shot a small ball of fire from the flower on its back. The ball floated in the air, energizing it, Typhlosion, and Charizard. "Solar Beam!" The same flower started glowing harshly with intense energy.

"Flame Charge again!" Nicholas commanded Typhlosion.

Lance joined the fun too. "Flare Blitz!"

Venusaur shot a huge beam of energy at Mewtwo while Typhlosion and Charizard rushed it cloaked in fire. Mewtwo waited until the last second before jumping in the air, allowing the three attacks to collide in an explosion that shook the building. "Try again, Venusaur," Gary said.

"Not so fast!" Archer screamed. "Houndoom, Fire Fang!" Suddenly, a Houndoom had joined the battle, running at Gary's Pokémon with flaming teeth.

"Oh shit! Feraligatr, Waterfall!" Jana yelled. Houndoom latched on to Venusaur, who cried in pain. Feraligatr wasted no time in ramming into Houndoom, The weakened water move wasn't enough to harm the sun-energized Houndoom, but it did what it needed to do. "Now use Slash!" Feraligatr slashed at Houndoom, who recoiled and attacked with Thunder Fang. Feraligatr ducked out of the way and hit it point blank with Surf, per her trainer's orders. Houndoom fell under even the weaker Surf and Archer was out of the fight as quickly as he had joined. "That'll teach ya," Jana bragged.

"Aura Sphere!" Jana looked back to the battle that was raging just in time to hear Giovanni say this. Before she could process what was happening, a bright blue ball of energy was hurtling toward Feraligatr. It slammed into her and sent her sprawling. "Psystrike." Just as Feraligatr stood up shakily, Mewtwo pelted her with several small energy blasts shaped like shards of glass. Most of them hit her while some buried themselves in the observation tower's wall, causing the bullet-proof glass to start to crack. Feraligatr fell to Mewtwo's onslaught and Jana ran to her to comfort her before recalling her.

"You did your best, Feraligatr," she assured her. She then thought about which Pokémon to use next while watching Mewtwo dodge onslaught after onslaught from its three opponents. She looked up to see the artificial sun shining brightly from the ceiling and made her decision. "Houndoom, go!" Jana's own Houndoom jumped into battle.

The next plan was to attack from every angle. Solar Beam, Flame Charge, Fire Fang, and Flare Blitz surrounded Mewtwo from every angle. "Psycho Cut," Giovanni said. Mewtwo swung its hand and a purple arc of energy sliced through the Solar Beam quick and effortlessly and slammed into Venusaur, who struggled to keep battling.

"Venusaur, no!" Gary yelled desperately. The three fire Pokémon snarled at Mewtwo before being told to attack once more.

Instead of following the previous pattern of everyone attacking at once, Jana had an idea. "Houndoom, jump and use Crunch!"

"After you dodge, use Psycho Cut," Giovanni said,

Charizard and Typhlosion charged Mewtwo, both of them cloaked in fire. Mewtwo jumped to avoid the attack just as Houndoom rose into the air as well. Right before Mewtwo could fire its attack downward, Houndoom latched on to Mewtwo's shoulder, causing it to bellow in pain. The psychic scream reverberated in everyone's head, further terrifying them. Mewtwp tried to hit Houndoom off of it with Psycho Cut, but the his dark typing caused the attacks to bounce off of him harmlessly.

"Good job, Jana, you've got the first hit in on it," Lance said.

"Don't celebrate yet," Jana replied. "That thing looks nowhere near done quite yet. We've gotta keep hammering it while its distracted. Houndoom, stay on Mewtwo the best you can!"

"I'll do the honors," Gary said. "Venusaur, use Solar Beam!" Just as the artificial sun was beginning to dim, Venusaur shot one last solar powered attack at its adversary. Mewtwo saw this attack coming and turned so that the attack hit Houndoom. He cried out in pain, causing his grip on his opponent to loosen just enough for the genetic Pokémon to finally throw him off. Enraged, the Pokémon charged an Aura Sphere and threw it at Houndoom.

"Typhlosion, Flame Charge!" Nicholas yelled. In an attempt to use Mewtwo's blind rage as a distraction, Typhlosion jumped for its opponent once more. Mewtwo spun around and lifted its hand. Typhlosion started glowing with a strange purple aura before getting tossed towards Houndoom. The poor dark-type got pummeled by an Aura Sphere and Typhlosion's body at once and once the dust settled, it revealed the forms of both fire Pokémon, completely unconscious.

"Houndoom, you did your best," Jana said as she recalled him. "Rest easy, friend."

"Typhlosion...you'll do better next time," Nicholas said, taking Lance's advice from earlier. "Now let's go, Gengar!"

"Aerdactyl, I choose you!" Gengar and Aerodactyl jumped from their respective Pokéballs and nodded at each other before joining the fray.

So far, Mewtwo had only been hit by one attack while Jana was down two Pokémon, Nicholas had just lost one, Venusaur was on its last legs, and Charizard was looking beat up from botching Flare Blitz too many times. Jana grit her teeth as she watched the four Pokémon attempt to land a hit on this monster. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Mewtwo lifted Venusaur off the ground and slammed it into the glass wall. A loud cracking noise was heard and Venusaur fell to the ground, revealing a fracture in the glass. The room suddenly got colder as Gary switched out his Venusaur for Pidgeot. "Damn it." Jana muttered. "We need more power..." Then, a thought occurred to her. "Or...more speed! Aerodactyl, use Agility until you can't go any faster."

Gary smiled. "Hey, good idea, Jana. Pidgeot, you use Agility as well." Aerodactyl and Pidgeot flew in circles around each other until they were both going so fast it was difficult to keep up with them. Then the four trainers issued attack orders.

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw."

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

"Pidgeot, use Hurricane!"

"Aerodactyl, hit it with Crunch when it tries to dodge."

Three attacks rushed at Mewtwo at high speed while Aerodactyl flew around the outside, waiting for Mewtwo to try to dodge. Seeing this, the psychic-type decided to avoid dodging altogether and deflected all the attacks with another Barrier.

"Damn it," Jana cursed. "Looks like that trick won't work twice. Aerodactyl, right when that Barrier gets taken down, use Take Down!" Aerodactyl nodded and flew at Mewtwo. Just as the barrier started to disappear, Aerodactyl barreled through what was left of it and slammed into Giovanni's Pokémon. Mewtwo recoiled and growled angrily at Aerodactyl before launching Psycho Cut several times. Aerodactyl was too fast for the attacks and dodged all of them, causing each one to explode against the glass, worsening the damage to the observation room. "Awesome job, Aerodactyl!" Jana cheered. Aerodactyl smiled at Jana in return and did a loop to show off. This was a mistake, however, because Mewtwo used this opportunity to launch an Aura Sphere, which hit Aerodactyl right as she was finishing her loop. Aerodactyl hit the ground hard and cried out in pain. "Oh no!" Jana ran to her and threw her arms around her neck. "Are you okay, Aerodactyl?" The flying-type feebly nodded and Jana sighed in relief. Behind her, the other three Pokémon had started trying to hit Mewtwo once again, distracting it from its anger at Jana's Pokémon. She pat Aerodactyl's head and gave her a hyper potion before sending her back into battle. Right before she lost sight of it, the stone around Aerodactyl's neck started to glow brightly. "What the hell?"

Lance saw this and gasped. "Perfect! Jana, grab that other stone I gave you and hold it up!"

"What? Oh, right!" Jana frantically dug through her backpack and found the second stone Lance had given her, which was now glowing harshly. "I don't know what this does, but no better time to find out than right now." She thrust it into the air and Suddenly, Aerodactyl was wrapped in an impossibly bright, pink light. After a small explosion Aerodactyl emerged, looking much different. Her eyes were green, her skin was more pale, and black spikes had erupted from everywhere on her body. She let out a bone-shaking roar and Lance cheered.

"That's Mega Evolution! Now watch mine." Lance held his hand high, revealing a stone embedded in his cuff. Chrizard became cloaked in the same light Aerodactyl was and emerged with black skin and blue fire coming from its mouth. Mega Charizard X roared in celebration and Giovanni grit his teeth.

"Whoa..." Jana said, admiring Aerodactyl and Charizard's new forms.

"Holy shit, dude," Gary said. "_I've_ never even used Mega Evolution and you unlocked the ability in just a few days?"

"What?" Giovanni roared. "How could you do that?" He growled before ordering Mewtwo to attack once more. "Psystrike, Mewtwo!" The genetic Pokémon created the purple glass shards from earlier and surrounded itself with them. It spread its arms out and the attack scattered everywhere. Aerodactyl and Charizard, thanks to having mega evolved, were even faster than before and dodged the attack completely. Pidgeot also managed to dodge most of it, but ended up taking a hit or two while Gengar sank into the ground to avoid the attack.

"Sucker Punch!" Nicholas said. Gengar's shadow disappeared and in the blink of an eye, it reappeared behind Mewtwo. It swung at the back of its opponent's head and caused it to stumble forward.

"While it's down, use Dragon Claw," Lance commanded. Charizard used its new dragon typing to hit Mewtwo with a more powerful Dragon Claw. Mewtwo stumbled back and struggled to regain its footing.

"Ancient Power!" Jana yelled. Aerodactyl sent her attack hurtling for the opponent, who got hit from behind and fell on its face.

As it struggled to get up, Gary sent Pidgeot into the fray. "Aerial Ace!" Pidgeot's beak became blue and it soared in to deliver the powerful blow.

"Thunder!" Giovanni bellowed, losing his patience. Mewtwo's entire body started crackling with electricity as Pidgeot neared it. Just before it would have gotten hit, Mewtwo exploded, sending Pidgeot, Gengar and Charizard flying back. Gengar and Pidgeot slammed into the glass, fainting on impact while Charizard righted itself before it could make impact. Gary switched Pidgeot for Rhyperior and Nicholas sent out Sneasel next. Disregarding this, Giovanni glared at Jana. "Who the fuck are you, anyway? How did you master Mega Evolution in a matter of days while I took two years to do so?"

"Wait, you did what?" Jana asked.

"He went to Kalos," Lance explained. "Kalos is where you go if you want to learn more about Mega Evolution."

Giovanni smiled. "That's right." He then untucked his tie from his suit, revealing a small, rainbow stone embedded on the end. He touched it and it started glowing brightly. Within seconds, that familiar pink light surrounded Mewtwo, and when it emerged, it had shrunk about two feet and its tail was now coming from the back of its head. Mewtwo's terrifying power became suffocating, making Jana's urge to run far away even stronger. Mega Mewtwo Y roared loudly, sending shivers down everyone's spine while Giovanni laughed maniacally. "Finally, my two years of hard work have paid off. Now you'll see the power I worked so hard to attain. Mewtwo, use Aura Sphere on Sneasel!"

"Sneasel, watch out!" Nicholas yelled. Mewtwo used its new speed to seemingly teleport in front of Sneasel, where it hit it with a point blank Aura Sphere. Sneasel fainted instantly. "Fuck, I'm running out of Pokémon," Nicholas said as he sent out Magneton. "Wee need to finish this thing now."

Jana was about to agree, but Lance stopped her. "I don't think we can..."

"Don't talk like that!" Jana snapped. "You're really gonna just quit like that? He may have mega evolved, but we have two mega evolutions against his one. We can still do this!"

Lance bit his lip and shook his head. "I don't believe you, but we can't quit without trying, right?"

Jana nodded. "That's a little more like it. Now let's kick his ass! Aerodactyl, use Ancient Power, but this time surround Mewtwo with the rocks."

"Rhyperior, you throw rocks at it too. Rock Wrecker!"

"Magneton, Thunder Shock."

Lance paused before finally saying, "Charizard, use Flare Blitz."

Five rocks rose from the ground around Mewtwo while Rhyperior formed rocks in between its hands, ready to throw whenever it needed to. Magneton sparked with electricity and Charizard became cloaked in blue fire. Mewtwo formed a barrier just as the rocks soared at it, causing the rocks to explode upon impact with it. As the barrier disappeared, a weak jolt of electricity snaked through it. Mewtwo dodged to the side and sent an Aura Sphere hurtling for Magneton. Magneton barely ducked out of the way, allowing the attack to slam into the already fractured glass. Mewtwo sensed Charizard approaching rapidly from behind, so it charged another Aura Sphere in its hand. It jumped into the air and swung downward, putting the Aura Sphere into Charizard's back just as it zoomed underneath the awakened genetic Pokémon.

"Crunch!" Jana yelled. Aerodactyl swooped in on Mewtwo, biting its tail savagely. Mewtwo let off a ferocious scream at the attack and quickly started surrounding itself with electricity. "Get the fuck out of there!" Jana screamed, realizing what was happening. Aerodactyl quickly made itself scarce, but the explosion of Thunder hit Charizard hard. While the Pokémon's dragon type allowed it to resist the attack, it was already pretty beat up after so many uses of Flare Blitz and that Aura Sphere, so Charizard finally gave into fatigue. It changed back to normal in a weak flash of light and stopped moving. Lance wordlessly switched it out with one of his Dragonite.

Gary saw the downtrodden look on his face and decided to motivate him. "Lance, don't give up! We've managed to get a good amount of hits in on him, so we're not out yet. Just keep trying." Finally, Lance nodded and Gary smirked. "Okay now get Mewtwo close to Rhyperior and distract it, alright? I'm going to hit it hard."

Lance, Jana and Nicholas nodded. "Dragonite, use Hyper Beam."

"Magneton, Thunder Shock again."

"Aerodactyl, Ancient Power!"

Magneton started by attacking Mewtwo with electricity. Mewtwo nimbly dodged the attack in the direction of the waiting Rhyperior. Mewtwo noticed Rhyperior wasn't doing anything and flew at it with intent to kill. This plan was already going better than anticipated. One of the rocks from Ancient Power grazed Mewtwo, disrupting its trajectory. It spun around to look for Aerodactyl, determined to make it pay for attacking it. All it saw was Dragonite, charging Hyper Beam. It fired and Mewtwo barely moved out of the way in time. Hyper Beam hit the glass wall and shattered it, creating a circular hole in the observation room. The temperature dropped several degrees and Mewtwo growled at Dragonite. It charged up an Aura Sphere, but before it could fire it, Rhyperior attacked.

"Megahorn!" Gary bellowed. Rhyperior's long horn turned green and it stabbed at Mewtwo. The attack landed and Mewtwo screamed in pain once more. It spun around and hit Rhyperior with a close range Aura Sphere. Rhyperior stumbled back and Aerodactyl used this opening to hit Mewtwo with Take Down. Mewtwo lashed out at Aerodactyl and hit her with Psystrike. Aerodactyl fell to the ground, barely keeping itself in the battle and Mewtwo turned it aggressions elsewhere. Magneton started glowing with a purple outline and Mewtwo smashed it against the window several times. It only stopped when Magneton's weight proved enough to break the glass. Nicholas scrambled over to the window and managed to recall Magneton before it fell out of his Pokéball's reach.

"Shit. My only Pokémon left is Golbat. I'm useless," he said as he sank to his knees in despair.

Giovanni laughed at this. "Looks like you're down a trainer, hm? How about you quit now and save yourself the pain of realizing you're useless too?"

Gary growled. "Not today. Rhyperior, Megahorn again!"

"We can't have that," Giovanni said. "Disable that, would you?" Mewtwo shot familiar blue energy strings, which wrapped themselves around Rhyperior's horn, rendering it unable to use the bug move.

"No matter," Gary scoffed. "Rock Wrecker!"

"Hyper Beam, Dragonite!"

"Crunch!"

Giovanni growled. "Get rid of that damn Aerodactyl, will you? Thunder!" Mewtwo dodged the two attacks from Gary and Lance and faced Aerodactyl directly. It charged the move in between its hands like the Aura Spheres before, and just before Aerodactyl could be told to dodge, it fired the attack. The electric explosion rocked the entire room. When the smoke from it cleared, Aerodactyl was back to normal and lying motionless on the ground. Mewtwo nodded down at her unconcious form and moved on to attack Dragonite and Rhyperior. Jana ran to Aerodactyl and threw her arms around her neck.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Aerodactyl. You did so good. Come inside and rest." Aerodactyl disappeared inside her Pokéball and Jana turned to Mewtwo once more. In doing so, she heard a faint jingle sound from inside her backpack. "What the...?" She dug around in her backpack and finally produced the Clear Bell the director had given her earlier. The bell, when she received it was dirty and brown, but now the bell was glowing a transparent blue color. Jana stared at it and the radio director's words echoed in her head. Once she realized what was happening, she raised the bell high above her head and gave it a shake. Nobody seemed to be bothered by the ringing, but Jana heard it loud and clear.

And halfway across the country, so did the North Wind.

The legendary Pokémon looked in the direction of the twilit Goldenrod City. The bell sounded once more and the North Wind bounded off to investigate.

When nothing immediately happened, Jana dropped the bell on the ground and grabbed Scizor's Pokéball. "Fine, if this North Wind thing won't come to help, we'll make due without it. Scizor, let's go!" Scizor jumped from the ball and immediately looked toward the battle raging across the room. Dragonite was holding up alright but Rhyperior was taking a beating from Mewtwo's constant attacks. Jana took a deep breath and thought about what to do. "Scizor, use Agility until you can't go any faster. Then...oh! Then hit it with Fury Cutter, and don't stop using Fury Cutter no matter what, okay?"

Scizor nodded and used the fact that Mewtwo was distracted to his advantage and took the time to speed up as best he could. Finally, when it was fast enough, it flew at Mewtwo and swung at it with his claw. Mewtwo barely even noticed the incredibly weak attack and continued its onslaught against Rhyperior. The champion's Pokémon finally could stand the attacks no more and fell under Mewtwo's might.

"Arcanine, your turn. We can do this, buddy." From Gary's next Pokéball emerged a huge, flaming dog Pokémon. It barked at Mewtwo and assumed a fighting pose. "Extreme Speed!" Arcanine disappeared and Mewtwo took two or three hits before Arcanine reappeared on the other side of the room. While it recovered from those hits, Scizor hit it with a slightly less weak Fury Cutter. Mewtwo swatted at him, but he flew away. Mewtwo gave chase and, in no time at all, caught up with Scizor and used Psychic to send him against the wall.

"Damn it," Jana said. "Mewtwo's still way too fast. We need to find a way to slow it down."

"If only we had a Pokémon still awake that knew Tailwind," Lance added.

"Tailwind? What's that?" Jana asked.

"It's a move that speeds up your entire team. If one of our Pokémon knew it, we'd be even faster than we are now. Unfortunately, Pidgeot fainted a while ago and I don't think we have anyone else who could use it."

"Enough chit-chat!" Giovanni yelled. "Psystrike, now!" Mewtwo materialized the attack around it and sent it in every direction.

"Arcanine, use your Extreme Speed to dodge it," Gary said. "If you get hit by even one of those, you're through." Arcanine nodded and started nimbly running around the battlefield, dodging the shard-like attack and weaving around Scizor and Dragonite, who took the attack due to their higher defenses. Mewtwo held up its hand and suddenly Arcanine stopped moving. It was lifted off the ground and held in place by Mewtwo's psychic powers.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" Giovanni said. "Psystrike. Now." Mewtwo launched the attack and Arcanine closed its eyes in fear and Gary yelled out its name.

Suddenly, all of the glass making up the outer wall of the observation room exploded and an ice-cold chill blew through the room. Jana screamed and ducked to avoid the shattering glass and Lance jumped in front of her, shielding her with his cape. Arcanine's feet hit the ground, the Pokémon itself unharmed. The attack that Mewtwo had sent its way seconds before was nowhere to be found and, in its place was a cloud of mist. Jana and Lance turned to look at the cloud of mist and the figure emerging from it. A quadrupedal Pokémon stepped into view and glared at Mewtwo fiercely. Lance was struggling to place a name to the Pokémon, but the blue form wasn't so unfamiliar to Jana.

"Suicune!"

The legendary beast looked at Jana and nodded its head. "What the fuck?" Giovanni said. "Now you have a legendary Pokémon helping you? Who the hell _are_ you?"

Jana stood up straight and smiled widely. "I'm the one destined to ring the Clear Bell and summon Suicune, I guess. And now you're straight up fucked, aren't you?"

Lance's eyes widened. "Can Suicune learn Tailwind?"

Jana looked to Suicune. "Do you use Tailwind?" The North Wind nodded its head in response, and Jana smiled again. "Yep, straight up fucked! Let's do that, Suicune." Suicune nodded again and suddenly, a harsh wind was blowing from behind everyone who was against Mewtwo. Scizor, Dragonite, and Arcanine were sped up incredibly.

"Let's go, Dragonite!" Lance said. "Dragon Rush!"

"Extreme Speed!"

"Scizor, keep using Fury Cutter, and Suicune...you do whatever I guess. You're not my Pokémon, but we need your help to defeat this guy. He's using this Pokémon to do evil, and we can't have that."

Suicune charged for Mewtwo, seeming to understand the circumstances of this fight. Arcanine landed an initial couple of hits, which slowed Mewtwo down enough for Dragonite's Dragon Rush to slam into it. Scizor rushed in and slapped it with another Fury Cutter, which didn't affect the genetic Pokémon much. Suicune opened its mouth wide and an impossibly large torrent of water shot from its mouth. It was the most powerful Hydro Pump anyone in the room had ever seen. Unfortunately, Fury Cutter didn't hurt Mewtwo enough to slow it down, so it the mega evolved Pokémon dodged the attack and hurled an Aura Sphere at Suicune. The North Wind jumped nimbly out of the way and the attack hit the ground with an explosion.

"Mewtwo's still too fast," Jana said. "Is there anything we can do to slow it down even more?"

Lance snapped his fingers. "I totally forgot, my Dragonite knows Thunder Wave. Paralysis cuts a Pokémon's speed in half."

"Perfect!" Jana said. "Now the hard part will be..."

"Hitting it," Gary finished.

"We'll manage," Lance said. "Just hang in there."

"Right," Jana nodded. "Scizor, keep on keeping on, buddy!"

"Arcanine, Fire Fang!"

"Dragonite, try to hit it with Thunder Wave."

The three Pokémon nodded and Suicune, having overheard the conversation, jumped into action.

"Mewtwo, Aura Sphere." Mewtwo launched an Aura Sphere at Suicune, but the legendary beast started glowing and the attack bounced off of it and hit Mewtwo square in the chest.

"Whoa, what was that?" Jana asked.

"Awesome, it knows Mirror Coat too!" Gary said. "That'll bounce any special attack right back at the attacker."

"That's awesome!" Jana said. "Guys, use this opening!"

Scizor, Arcanine, and Dragonite went to work. Scizor hit Mewtwo with a stronger Fury Cutter; they were actually starting to hurt now. Arcanine latched on to Mewtwo's tail with flaming teeth and Dragonite used the pain Mewtwo was in as an opening to hit it with Thunder Wave. Mewtwo slowed down considerably, but unfortunately, so did Arcanine. Mewtwo exploded with Thunder, sending Arcanine flying and went for Dragonite.

"Dragon Rush!" Lance said.

Giovanni smirked. "Me First bypasses speed, so use Me First Mewtwo!"

"Shit!" Lance yelled. Mewtwo read Dragonite's mind and copied the attack it was about to use. It became cloaked in a blue aura and it slammed into Dragonite, instantly knocking it unconscious. "I didn't think it knew Me First. Sorry, my friend."

Arcanine, who had been struggling to regain its ground, ran at Mewtwo next. Mewtwo turned and hit it directly with Psycho Cut. Arcanine fell to Mewtwo's might and Gary was forced to recall his Pokémon as well.

Jana growled. "You got this, Scizor. Keep going!" As Gary and Lance scrambled to figure out which Pokémon to use next, Scizor flew at Mewtwo and continued hitting it with steadily more powerful hits from Fury Cutter. Suicune contributed as well by hitting Mewtwo every once in a while with Ice Fang. Mewtwo was getting worn down by the constant attacks, and it was showing. Before Lance or Gary could decide which Pokémon to use next, Mewtwo roared a loud, ear-splitting roar. The Pokéballs in the hands of the champ and the dragon master started shorting out and shocking their owners.

Giovanni, also getting fed up, bellowed at the trainers. "That's it! No more using more Pokémon. Once Suicune and Scizor are out, you're fucking done! Use Thunder!" Mewtwo didn't need its speed for this move. As Suicune launched another Hydro Pump at it, the legendary Pokémon shot the electric move. The attacks collided and the water served as a conductor, carrying the electric current to Suicune. Suicune roared in pain and fell over, unable to get back up.

"Jana, it's up to you!" Gary yelled.

"You can do it, Jana!" Lance supplied.

"Show my father who's boss," Nicholas said quietly.

"Oh, like hell she can," Giovanni snapped savagely. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Achieving Mega Evolution, summoning Suicune, and now you think you can take on the legendary Mega Mewtwo on your own? Don't make me laugh! Without your little friends by your side, you're nothing. Nothing! I was gone for two years, training my ass off! It's my time to shine! My time!"

Scizor and Mewtwo stood, facing each other down. Scizor would have been terribly outmatched under any other conditions, but with Mewtwo's paralysis, Suicune's tailwind, and his own agility combined with all the damage Mewtwo had taken, the odds were now even. Scizor's Fury Cutter was at full power and if it managed to hit its target, he might just have stood a chance.

Scizor leaned forward, ready to fly away at the first sign of an attack. Mewtwo did as well. Its movements were stilted and jittery, being hindered by paralysis. A breeze blew through the room and the two jumped. They attacked and dodged, jumping all over the room and launching attacks just as fast as they could dodge them.

"You're wrong, Giovanni," Jana said as everyone watched the battle with baited breath. "I may not be that strong compared to Gary and La—my father, but I don't need their validation. I know I'm strong. I know I'm special, and I don't need them around to tell me that." She then pointed at the mob boss. "What I definitely don't need is you telling me I'm not any of those things. Your fault this battle was a lack of strategy."

"What?" Giovanni demanded.

"You focused so much on raw power that you didn't pay enough attention to not getting hit. If you had been more concerned about that, you could have blown us all away. You were so obsessed with getting your time, but your time to shine is past you, old man. Do you know what time it is now?

"It's Jana time, bitch."

"What?"

"Scizor, drop!" Mewtwo and Scizor were on a collision course with each other for the last split seconds. Mewtwo launched a Psycho Cut at Scizor and, in response, the metal bug stopped flapping its wings entirely, causing it to drop like a rock and land hard on the ground. "Now Fury Cutter!" Before Mewtwo could react, Scizor jumped without the assistance of its wings and slammed into Mewtwo with a Fury Cutter uppercut. Mewtwo went flying and, when it landed, it was two feet taller and its tail was back where it originally was.

Mega Mewtwo, the genetic Pokémon, had been defeated.

"What? No!" Giovanni screamed. "How could you do this? How is this possible? Mewtwo is the strongest Pokémon _in the world!_"

"Even the strongest can be outnumbered," a breathless Jana said. Now that Mewtwo had fainted, the pressure that had been pressing on her chest for so long was finally relieved. She was light-headed, but her head also ached like a bitch. "And you've been outnumbered."

Giovanni looked like he was about to explode, but he just took a few deep breaths and hung his head low. Archer, who had been watching this whole fight in terror since his Houndoom was put out of commission, placed a timid had on Giovanni's shoulder. "...Boss?"

Giovanni smacked Archer, who fell back. The mob boss then began walking toward Jana menacingly. Jana's eyes widened and she was starting to think Giovanni was going to get physical. Scizor sensed her panic and jumped in front of her, shielding her from the man. He simply walked around Jana and Scizor, leaving them very confused. "I understand."

"What?" Jana asked.

"I understand." Giovanni stopped in front of the shattered window and traced his finger over a wicked looking shard that was stubbornly wedged in place. "My time is over. It's time for the younger generation to step out of my shadow and forge the path for the future of this world and blah blah blah." Giovanni seemed to grow impatient with his terribly cliché speech. "Maybe if I had realized that, I could have trained Nicky to take over the world in my place." As Giovanni said this, Mewtwo started to stir. The legendary clone was in no shape to battle, but consciousness was starting to wash over it again. Giovanni stepped up onto the windowsill. The shard of glass was in between his feet as he stood on the edge, looking down on the quickly darkening Goldenrod City. "I guess we're done here."

Team Rocket's former boss raised his hand in the air and Jana suddenly realized what he was doing. She ran for him just as he lifted a foot to step off the radio tower and everyone else gasped. She lunged for the man and grabbed his wrist, but his weight almost dragged her over the edge with him. She hung over the edge of the observation room, a searing pain radiating from somewhere near her belly, struggling to hold up the much older man. "Oh no you...don't," Jana stuttered.

"Father!" Nicholas screamed.

"Jana!" Lance and Gary yelled at once. Gary ran over and helped her keep herself on the tower. "Why are you helping him?" He demanded.

Jana coughed. "He can't just run away from justice like this. He lost, and now he has to face the consequences of his crimes. I can't let him walk away from Nicholas and...Alexis' mom without punishment."

Gary nodded understanding. "Then let's pull him up."

"No, don't!" Giovanni snapped. "I'm leaving on my own terms. Don't you think watching the most powerful Pokémon get bested by a fledgling trainer is punishment enough? Let me go!"

"Not a chance," Jana said weakly.

"Jana, you okay?" Gary asked as they continued to struggle.

Jana shook her head slowly. The world was fading in and out of existence for her. Voices were far away, the most prevalent feelings were the weight of this man, the pain in her abdomen, and the pain in her head not unlike the aforementioned stab wound in her stomach. She struggled to keep her eyes open and her feet on the ground, but finally, her eyelids—and Giovanni—grew too heavy.

Jana registered one last desperate scream as she slipped into an endless black void.


	8. After The Battle

"_**Jana."**_

The voice was loud. Louder than physically possible. It shook Jana down to her core. The only thing she was aware of in all of existence was this deep, impossibly loud voice.

"_Jana."_

This second voice was also intolerable in volume, but it was slightly quieter. It was a definite female voice while the first one didn't sound like it belonged to any one person. The female voice had a tone of desperation to it. Like it was worried. It also felt a lot warmer. While the first voice sent chills down Jana's spine—if it still existed—the second one soothed her and made her feel at home.

"_**Jana." **_

The first voice sounded again. This one sounded less worried, but still slightly concerned. A warmth spread throughout Jana's body, but where was it?

Was she still alive? Where was she? She couldn't feel anything except her name, being repeated over and over by those two voices. How could she feel voices, anyway? She would be confused by all these question, but again, all feeling was replaced by the voices.

"_**Jana."**_

"_Jana!"_

* * *

Darkness.

Beeps.

"Jana?"

Jana felt something for the first time in an impossibly long time, and it was pain. Indescribable, unbearable pain. Her head was pounding and she had a lingering stinging sensation just below her ribs. Wait, that seemed familiar. And she was aware of her body and its existence. And the voice that had just called her name was a real, tangible voice that didn't belong to nothing. Jana took these facts as a sign that she was alive, and started slowly opening her eyes.

"Jana!" The man said. Was that? Yeah, that was a male voice, definitely. Jana's eyes adjusted to the harsh, bright light and the first face she saw was desperate, very clearly scared, and, actually, a huge relief to see. Which was something she never thought she would think about this face.

Then she said a word she never thought she'd say to this face.

"Dad?"

Lance's face lit up and he sat back in his chair. "Oh my god, thank god you're okay."

Jana didn't dare move, but she looked around to survey her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. She was laying on an extremely uncomfortable bed, hooked up to beeping machines. Her bed was surrounded by chairs, only one of which was occupied. Did she really have that many visitors? Her bedside table was littered with her stuff, from her Pokégear to her belt and her six Pokéballs. Her backpack hung on a hook on the far wall. "What happened?"

Lance took a deep breath. "Let's get to that in a minute. I'll be right back, okay?"

He jumped from his chair and left the room. Jana groaned in response. She wanted to get up and follow him, but something—namely, the searing pain in her abs—told her to stay put.

Several minutes later, three people came into the room. Gary, who seemed frantic and on edge, Lance, and Jana's mother, who's face was stained with tears. "Mom!" Jana said. It just occurred to her then that her voice was gravelly and she croaked out her words. Her throat was dryer than a desert, which she was just beginning to register.

"Oh my god, I'm so happy you're alright," Jana's mom said as she took her daughter in a tight hug. "When Lance told me what happened, I just...oh, I cried for days."

"Days? How long have I been out?"

"About a week," Gary choked out. Everyone looked at him and he coughed nervously. "Ahem. Sorry, I just...hospitals make me nervous. I don't like them. You uh, continue."

Lance nodded and started telling the story. Jana faintly heard the door to her room open, but was currently too entrenched in the tale of what went down.

"When you fell, we were all too shocked to do anything. You would have died, but Scizor jumped into action. Because it was so fast, it managed to catch you before you picked up too much speed. Jana, it turns out you had a severe concussion for some time before that, and you experienced one of the scarier side effects: fainting. Anyway, Scizor saved your life. However, since he's made of steel, you still suffered some bruising and another hit to the head from when he caught you."

Jana nodded, showing she was paying attention. She took a mental note to thank Scizor later.

"Anyway," Lance continued, "you also got a shard of glass embedded in you, just below your ribs on your right side. There was blood everywhere and...you were dying." At this, Jana's mom choked back a sob. "I think you would have bled out before we made it here, but you'll never guess what happened."

"What happened?" Jana parroted.

"Mewtwo saved you," Gary said. "It came down and used its Recover move on you. It also found your Alakazam—"

"Casey," Jana corrected.

"Casey. Casey and Mewtwo worked together and kept your wound in check in time for it to get patched up. Without them, you probably wouldn't have survived."

"Why did Mewtwo save me?" Jana asked amid this exposition dump. Everyone shrugged in response.

"We don't know," Lance said. "It flew off after helping you out for that first day or two."

"Interesting..." Then, a thought occurred to Jana. The reason she fell in the first place! "Wait, what happened to Giovanni?"

"My dad's dead." Everyone turned to see that when the door opened, Nicholas had silently slid into the room. He stood with his back to the wall. He had his arms crossed and his head hung low. "Scizor couldn't save both of you. He hit the ground."

Jana sat up in the bed. An action that caused her immense pain, but she did it so she could get a better look at Nicholas. "I'm sorry. I tried to stop him."

"It's whatever," Nicholas said. "A father who leaves me is no father of mine. My only regret about it is that he didn't face up to his crimes. What an idiot."

Jana looked down at the covers. Under which, she assumed, she was wearing only one of those thin blue hospital gowns. "Still though. He was your father."

Nicholas shook his head. "I lost all attachment I could have felt for him while we were fighting. He was already dead to me."

"Well then." Jana looked to Gary. "I'm sorry I couldn't make him pay for what he did to...yeah."

"Alexis? Yeah, I know. I'm sorry too. But that's something I want to talk to you about later, okay?"

"Sure," Jana nodded. "So...what now?"

"I think you should read all your letters," Jana's mom said. She nodded toward Jana's left side. To her left was another side table. This one had balloons and gift baskets and get well card aplenty.

"Holy shit," Jana said. "That's all for me?" Everyone nodded."Well then. I guess I better get to work." Jana took another look at her visitors. "Thanks for coming to see me."

"No problem!" Gary said enthusiastically.

Nicholas scoffed. "Whatever."

Jana smiled and then looked to her parents. Before she said anything, she noted how close they seemed to be standing to each other. She raised an eyebrow at them and they looked confused. Then she looked down to see that Lance and her mother were holding hands. "That's so adorable I think I'm gonna vomit." Everyone—even Nicholas—laughed as Jana felt a strange feeling welling up in her. Was it pure, unadulterated happiness for her mother? "...No, I actually think I'm going to puke. Like, for real. Oh god."

* * *

As the last light of day filtered through the curtains and into Jana's hospital room, it found her and her mother rummaging through her various presents and letters. Lance and Gary had to leave to take care of important business, while Nicholas decided to leave long ago, making himself scarce almost immediately after the vomit incident. Jana had gotten letters and gifts from all sorts of people, some of which she didn't even know. Apparently, the battle caused quite a stir and was extensively covered by the news almost the entire time Jana was asleep. Now pretty much the entirety of both Johto and Kanto knew Jana's name, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. As they sorted through the gifts from miscellaneous people (saving the ones from people Jana knew for last,) her mother struck up conversation.

"So that red-haired boy. He seems nice enough, doesn't he?"

Jana shrugged. "No, not really. He's pretty much an asshole. He stole his starter Pokémon."

"Oh, I see," her mother said.

"Besides, I know where you were going with that, and I don't think it would ever work out. You'd think it would be pretty awkward considering I, uh, kind of killed his father?" Jana shrugged.

Her mom laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm sorry, I just wish you were more into finding a nice boy, you know? It's been a long time since I could talk about boy things."

"I see," Jana said. "Well, if you're so intent, why don't you tell me about _your_ boy thing? Lance is with you again, right?"

Jana could see her mom blush. "Um, well, yeah. Someone had to call me and tell me what happened, and well, Lance did. You'll never know how weird it was seeing your name on my Pokégear and then hearing his voice for the first time in so long. So anyway, we, well, talked it out and sorted through the problem and, one thing lead to another."

"That's so great!" Jana said.

"Yeah, nothing like almost losing a child to reunite two parents, huh?"

Jana looked away, suddenly feeling almost guilty. "Yeah, uh, sorry I did that. The almost dying part. Oops."

Mom laughed again. "It's okay, sweetie."

"So what was the problem?" Jana asked.

"Well, Lance—your father told me he wanted to talk to you about it himself."

Jana groaned. "God, when will I get any straight answers?"

"Don't worry about it. Let's keep looking at your stuff."

"Fine."

The first letter Jana read from someone she knew was from a man that she really wish she didn't have to think about again.

"Dear Jana,

"I heard the big news! You met Suicune! That's so cool! I spent the better part of my life searching for that elusive, majestic creature and you not only met it, you got to fight alongside it! Against Mewtwo no less. I'm so blown away by your prowess as a Pokémon trainer. You've been at this, what, like a week? Man. Well, I do hope you get better and when you do, be sure to hit me up so I can meet Suicune myself. If you can't find me, you know where to find the man who has my number.

"Toodles,

"Eusine."

Jana rolled her eyes before crumpling the paper and tossing it in the general direction of the trash can. "What a fruitcake. Next."

She got letters from all the gym leaders she had fought thus far. Faulkner's letter was obviously hollow well wishes and Jana wondered why he even bothered writing it. Bugsy's was cheery and optimistic, much like the kid himself. Right next to his letter was a letter from Kurt! The fact that the old man not only remembered her, but wrote to her after hearing of her condition kind of warmed the teenager's cold, dead heart.

"Jana,

"In the course of a few days, you went from chasing a gang of punks from the well to saving an entire country or two. How impressive! I wish I could have been there to see your triumph over the strongest Pokémon alive, but if it was enough to make a young, spry girl like yourself faint, then an old relic like myself probably would have suffered heart failure. Jokes aside, I do hope you get better ASAP. I'd like nothing more than to hear that you've become champion. My granddaughter and I are behind you every step of the way.

"Regards,

"Kurt."

Jana smiled as she read the letter. As she rifled through all the gifts, treats and letters that were sent to her, it finally hit her that she did something important. She defeated Mewtwo and saved Johto, Kanto and possibly the world from whatever Giovanni was going to do to it, and people recognized that. Jana felt incredibly important and, more importantly, appreciated. The warmth of that feeling started building in her chest as she reached for the next letter. It was from someone Jana wasn't expecting to get a letter from, considering how she treated him. Morty's letter was hastily written, had several instances of written stuttering for some reason, and several words were crossed out. The short letter simply told her that he appreciated her help in saving the world, and though the letter was short, it made Jana realize something else.

She didn't do that alone.

Of course she wouldn't have stood a chance against Mewtwo alone. While Jana was the one who got the news coverage due to falling off a building, she wouldn't have been able to do it without Suicune, Nicholas, Lance and Gary there to help her. She needed to remember to thank them for their help next time she saw them.

If she ever saw Nicholas or Suicune again, that is.

Her mom then handed her the next letter. "This one's from another gym leader, though I can't read their name on the envelope."

Jana took the envelope and examined it. The messy cursive was indeed very hard to decipher, but finally, Jana could make out a J, an S and an M, which was enough to bring a warm smile to her face. "It's from Jasmine!" She hastily opened it and started reading slowly.

"Dear Jana,

"So I heard the news, and wow! Just a couple of days ago, you kicked my butt in a battle, and now here you are, all over the news because you saved the world and beat the mythical Mewtwo. Nobody was even sure that Pokémon existed up until now! Anyway, I'm so grateful for you and everything you've done. Me and Amphy owed you so much already, and then there you go saving the world. Anyway, as happy for you as I am, I still can't say I'm not worried sick about you. I'm putting my Pokégear number at the bottom of this letter. Please call me and let me know when you're okay. You hurry up and get better, and I'll try not to lose too much sleep over it.

"Love,

"Jasmine."

Jana read out the number underneath the letter, which was signed with a heart. She smiled and shook her head. "God Jasmine, your handwriting sucks." She then immediately reached for her Pokégear to punch in the number.

"What are you doing?" Her mom asked.

"I'm calling a friend," Jana said. "She wants me to call her when I'm better."

"Okay, but the hospital's only letting the four of us visit. Gary had to fight to get them to even let in Nicholas. So be sure to tell her no visitors."

"Got it," Jana nodded. She clicked the call button and her mom excused herself from the room to give her some privacy, which wasn't really necessary, but she shrugged it off.

The phone hardly even rang once before the familiar, small voice answered from the other side. "Hello?"

"Hey Jasmine," Jana said. "I just read your letter. I'm okay! Ish. Okay-ish."

Jasmine gasped. "Jana! Oh my god, I'm so glad to be hearing from you. Man, I was worried. The news stopped reporting on your condition a couple of days ago, so we've all been in the dark. How are you doing? What happened to knock you out for so long?"

"Um, well, I kind of had a concussion from a long-ass time ago, I guess?" Jana said. "I don't know when, but concussions cause fainting, so I sort of fainted and fell. My Scizor caught me though. Big thanks on that Metal Coat, by the way."

Jasmine giggled cutely on the other end. "No problem!"

"Anyway, falling out of the window also caused this like, huge glass shard to wedge itself in me, It hurts like a bitch."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but you're okay and alive and that's what matters!" Jasmine was sounding so upbeat and happy on her end. Jana would have thought it strange for her, but she knew from the gym battle that Jasmine was one extreme or another when it came to showing emotion. "So when can I come visit you?"

Jana found herself smiling at the thought. "Well, I dunno. My mom said they're not letting any visitors in except for her and La—my dad. I can totally call you when you're allowed to visit, though!"

"I'd love that," Jasmine said happily. "Just call me then, Jana. Bye!"

"Bye," Jana said, somewhat sad that she couldn't talk to Jasmine anymore. She hung up the Pokégear and slumped back in her bed. She didn't really care about the rest of the gifts on her table anymore, because knowing that Jasmine cared about her well-being was all she really needed.

* * *

Later that night, Jana lay in her hospital bed, staring at the ceiling and trying in vain to sleep. The last few hours had been made up of various doctors running tests on her to see if she was alright. They determined she was good enough for them to unhook her from the machines that she had been attached to, but they didn't think she was well enough to leave—or even stand—yet. They said that she was still showing symptoms of the concussion, so until they disappeared, she would not be able to do anything that required thinking too much or physical activity. This meant that Pokémon battling was entirely out of the question for who knew how long. This left Jana laying in bed for entire nights staring at the tiled ceiling and wishing she was still comatose.

Some good did come out of being awake for so long, though. The doctors had allowed Jana to release her Pokémon from their balls to keep her company. The one condition was that she wasn't allowed to let Aerodactyl or Scizor out, due to the former's size and the latter's weight. Jana was so excited to hear this, she let out Feraligatr the first chance she had. After a nice, comforting hug, she let out the other Pokémon she was allowed to. Nidoqueen and Houndoom were relieved to see her okay, but no Pokémon was more excited than Casey the Alakazam. She looked at Jana and her eyes lit up happily. Suddenly,

"_Jana!"_

She nearly jumped out of bed, startled by the noise. That unbearably loud voice from when she was out was sounding within her skull once again. Well, one of them. This one was the slightly quieter female voice. Jana looked around, searching desperately for whatever caused that noise. Finally, she looked at Casey. "Did...did you say that?"

Casey looked confused for a second, as if to say, "did you hear that?" But finally she nodded.

Jana shook her head. "Okay, either I'm hearing really, really loud things, but you just said my name. And I heard that back when I blacked out too. Did you say my name then, too?"

Casey nodded.

"Huh. Can you do it again?" Casey responded with a simple shrug. "Alright," Jana said with a nod. "Interesting."

A couple of days ruminating on that later, Jana finally got what she had been waiting for since her "boy talk" with her mom. Lance walked in to visit. Alone and without any distraction. He sat down on the chair closest to Jana and rested his arms on his knees. "Hey."

"Hi," Jana responded. "You have something you need to tell me, if I'm not mistaken."

Lance nodded. "Right. One of the first things you demanded of me after we met was that I explain why I did what I did." When his daughter nodded in response, he sighed and continued. "You see, back, almost eighteen years ago now, I stopped by New Bark Town. While I was there, I met your mother and, well, we kind of fell in love."

"Kind of," Jana remarked. "Come on dude, I don't wanna hear every detail of my conception. Just get to the point already."

Lance shot a look at Jana and she piped up. The look was one that told her that this was hard enough already and not to make it any worse. Lance looked at his feet and continued. "You see, I never intended on staying for very long, because the Indigo Plateau was so close, and the title of Champion was in my grasp. However, your mother was so...wonderful that I thought, you know, what would be the harm in sticking around for a while? So I stayed for about a month or so and then it happened.

"One day, your mother approached me and told me she was pregnant. I was going to be a father. The mere idea of it shook me to my very core. I wasn't ready for that. I wanted to be the champion so bad, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to juggle both championship and fatherhood, so I...left.

"I left at night, without telling anyone. I couldn't bare to face your mother and tell her why I was going. I knew that if I watched her shed a single tear, I'd never bring myself to leave, but I would also never become Champion. It was stupid and selfish and I should never have done it. If I could go back and change it, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm so sorry, Jana." By now, Lance was choking up and his daughter was staring ahead blankly.

"You probably should have let my mom tell me."

"Why?"

"Because hearing it from you, I want to strangle you." Jana gripped her bedsheets tightly. "You let your stupid fucking pride come before the one you loved." She took a deep breath. "However, there is one bright side to you having told me."

"And what is it?" Lance asked.

"It makes me respect you a little bit, knowing you had the guts to admit it to my face."

Her father nodded. "Yeah, that's the effect I was going for. Jana, I know full well that I'm trash, but having met you now, I want nothing more to be able to do it all over. Hardly a day passed where I didn't think about your mother and how she was doing without me. It hurt so much and it still does."

"But my mom forgives you?"

"After I grovelled a lot, yeah."

Jana nodded. "I see."

"It's all my fault and I recognize that," Lance said. "And, I know I don't deserve to know you or be in your life, but I really would like to be. I haven't known you for long, but I already love you like my daughter, and I hope you can come to love me like your father, despite how shitty I am."

Several thousand thoughts and emotions were swirling in Jana's head, but she couldn't construct them into coherent sentences. Despite the torrent of swirling emotions, Jana simply said, "we'll see."

Lance nodded. "Do you, uh, need to be alone to absorb all this?" After seeing his daughter nod silently, he quickly stood up. "Alright. Goodbye, Jana." He made his way to the door but stopped on his way through it. "Oh, by the way, it probably won't help at all, but if you were curious, I basically didn't leave your side while you were asleep. The only person more worried than me was your mother. Anyway, now I'm going." He shut the door behind him and, when she was sure he wasn't coming back, Jana cracked a smile.

"Not bad, old man."

* * *

Jana's hospital stay lasted about a month. This was about two weeks too long for her taste. She not only had to go through physical therapy to rebuild her leg muscles, but her doctor wanted to make sure she had absolutely no remaining symptoms from the concussion. At least physical therapy meant she could move around. While it was shaky going at first, she managed to be walking fine again in no time. The first thing she did when she was released (besides give her Scizor a huge hug,) was fly to Olivine on Aerodactyl. She never did tell Jasmine when the hospital would be expecting visitors, but she figured it would be more fun to surprise the gym leader with a visit of her own.

As she made the trek from the Pokémon Center to the gym, she heard a couple of passers-by say something unsettling. "What? What do you mean the gym's closed?"

The couple stopped and the man who recited the news nodded. "Yeah, the gym leader's got herself cooped up in the lighthouse. Nobody really knows why. I guess this happened a little over a month ago too."

"Oh no," Jana said. "Well, thanks for the heads up!" With that, she abandoned the couple and sprinted for the lighthouse.

"What was that all about?" The second man asked.

The first guy simply shrugged in response.

Jana rushed up the lighthouse, desperately hoping Amphy didn't fall ill again. She reached the top and threw the door open, stomping into Amphy's room amid a loud gasp. She looked over to Amphy's bed to see the Ampharos sitting on it next to her trainer. Jasmine's eyes widened in shock at Jana's appearance, and Amphy smiled.

Before anyone could say a word, Jasmine sprung from the bed and ran at Jana. The gym leader took her in a forceful hug before lifting her and spinning around. "Oh my god, Jana! I was so worried about you! Again!"

Jana laughed as Jasmine finally put her down. "Sorry to worry you so much. I just figured it'd be more fun if I visited you instead of the other way around. Trust me, the whole 'stuck in a hospital bed' thing was_ so _unflattering."

The girls shared a laugh and once they had calmed down, Jasmine invited her to sit next to her and Amphy on the bed. The next twenty minutes or so were spent catching up, having lunch and exchanging stories. The biggest story, of course, was the tale of Giovanni, Mewtwo, and the climactic battle on top of the Radio Tower. Jasmine was so engrossed in the story that it didn't even matter that Jana couldn't remember all of the details. By the time the lunch had been finished, Jasmine was fully caught up on everything that happened.

"Wow, so he killed himself, huh?"

"Yeah," Jana said. "I tried to stop him so he could face justice for what he'd done, but I guess there was nothing I could do."

"Who knows," Jasmine said. "I'm just glad you're safe."

"I am too," Jana said with a smile. "Sorry I worried you so much. Twice."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Jasmine said, putting an arm around Jana. "I think it _was _a better idea for you to visit on your own terms. Probably wouldn't have been much fun if you were bedridden."

"That's what I thought," Jana agreed.

The two girls spent the better part of an hour talking about whatever came to mind while keeping Amphy entertained. The otherwise shy Ampharos had warmed up to Jana considerably and by the time the sun was starting to set, Amphy gave both girls a hug before they left her to her job of illuminating the lighthouse. The two girls left the lighthouse and headed back for the gym. "So what's next for you, miss Jana?"

"I'm gonna keep going. I only have one more badge to get, then I can challenge the Elite Four. My team might be a bit rusty after a month of not battling, but I know they can totally do this. It'll probably only take a battle or two to get back into it."

"Sounds like a plan," Jasmine said with a nod. "When you become Champion, you should absolutely come back to visit. Tell me all about the battles with the Elite Four. Then I'll challenge you to a rematch."

"Oh yeah?"

Jasmine smirked. "Oh yeah, I'll even use my strongest Steelix. She'll show you a thing or two."

"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" Jana asked. By then, they had reached the Pokémon Center.

"You'll see," Jasmine assured her. She gave Jana one more hug in front of the center. "I'm so glad to see you again. Good luck on the rest of your journey. Kick some ass, alright?"

"You got it!" Jana said enthusiastically. With that, Jasmine walked away, back to the gym to accept some late night challenges. Jana went inside the Pokémon Center, intending on getting a room for the night. However, when she saw Gary sitting at a table near the entrance, something told her those plans would change.

She sat down at the same table as Gary, who was helping himself to some fruit. When he saw her, he nodded at her and held out a slice. "Pineapple? You should probably get some fruit in you. It's healthy and all."

Jana shrugged. "Good point." She took a slice and took a bite out of it. "So what brings you here?" She asked once she swallowed her bite.

"I had a feeling this is where you were gonna end up."

"So you need to talk to me?"

The Champion nodded. "I have something to show you."

* * *

The ride on Gary's Pidgeot was lengthy and quiet, save for the wind whipping at their hair and clothes. The dark sky did not allow for much sight-seeing, so Jana was forced to watch the lights of cities fly by far under them as she held Gary's waist tightly. After she lost count of how many clusters of light they had passed, she decided to make conversation. "So where are we going?"

"A bit farther away from New Bark than you've been before, I'd bet," Gary replied. His demeanor, as well as his curt response, told Jana this was a going to be a sobering trip at the very least.

"So does it normally take this long to get to wherever we're going?"

"No, but I told Pidgeot to go a bit slower. You can't put too much strain on yourself."

"How thoughtful of you. Thanks."

"Hm." The rest of the trip was spent in silence, and before long, Jana found herself mesmerized by the powerful sounds of Pidgeot's wings flapping. Eventually, she found that a group of lights were getting closer, and watched as Pidgeot descended into a city, weaving in and out of several tall buildings to land in front of a building with bright neon signs on the front. The light was too bright and Jana's eyes took too long to adjust, so she could not figure out where they were before they got inside.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around the bright waiting room. The sterile white tile on the floors, the fluorescent lights and the blank walls tipped her off that they were in a hospital, but what would they be doing in another hospital so soon?

Gary waited until he had talked to the receptionist to answer. She informed him that he did know visiting hours were almost over, right? He assured her that yes, that was why they had come. After he was told they could see "her" in a few moments, the two took a seat and he finally answered quietly.

"We're in the Celadon City mental hospital. The one in Saffron's better, but she refuses to take one step into that place."

"That place being the one in Saffron or actual Saffron?" Jana asked shortly before she realized Celadon wasn't even in Johto.

"Actual Saffron. Long story."

Suddenly, Jana realized why they were there and gasped. "Wait, are we going to see your friend? ...Alexis?" She felt like she had to whisper the name because for some reason, mentioning it around Gary just seemed rude. He nodded wordlessly and she stared ahead blankly, trying to process this information. Why was she being brought here? Before she could dwell on it, a woman bid them to follow her. During the short trip down several halls, Jana noticed Gary was leaning into turns before the nurse even was. She realized Gary had probably been this way more times than he could count and her heart dropped for him. Finally, they came to a halt in front of a huge, heavy door, so separated from the other doors in the hall that Jana almost forgot there _were_ other doors.

"Please, don't get too loud. She's still sensitive to sound," the nurse warned.

Gary nodded. "Right. Thank you, ma'am."

Jana was almost terrified to go into the room, but after taking a deep breath and calming herself, she ventured behind Gary into the padded, bare room. She was surprised to find six Pokémon roaming around, completely free of their Pokéballs. A Dugtrio, Fearow and Gengar were in the corner, eating and drinking from bowls that had no doubt been provided for them, while a Blastoise and Growlithe were wandering aimlessly. A Clefable was sitting on the floor next to a girl with short, brunette hair trapped in a straitjacket. She stared ahead blankly, her otherwise beautiful green eyes wide and scared. She shivered slightly and mumbled incoherently to herself.

Gary sensed Jana's panic and held his hand in front of her. "You wait here. I'll get to why you're here." He walked over and sat on the girl's right, the opposite of the side Clefable was sat on. "Hey there, Alexis," he said. "I know it's been a bit longer since I came last, but I have lots of important news for you tonight. You ready?" He paused, as if awaiting a response. He then launched into several miscellaneous, unrelated stories about some of the duties being Champion entailed and some of the shenanigans the Elite Four had been up to, all while obviously trying to hold back tears. One named Bruno apparently lived in the mountains and Gary swore he ate rocks. His teeth looked like it, anyway. Koga was beginning the move from gym leader to Elite Four member, while his daughter Janine was taking over the Violet City gym.

Then he got to Lance.

"and—you won't believe this, but Lance has a daughter that he never even told me about! All these years of being champ and I had no idea. She's just a bit younger than us, too. I, um, actually brought her along today, because she and I have something very important to tell you." Gary motioned for Jana to step forward, and she finally made a shaky move away from the door.

At her movement, all six of the Pokémon present turned to look at the visitor. Growlithe looked about ready to bark at her, but Blastoise nudged it with its foot and shook its head. With all this attention on her, Jana suddenly started feeling very self conscious about the slight limp she had developed from the massive laceration she suffered at the hands of the radio tower's observation deck. She stood in front of Gary, Alexis and Clefable and the champion motioned for her to sit. She did as he said, sitting cross-legged in front of the trio. "This is Jana. Jana, meet Alexis."

"Hi Alexis," Jana said timidly.

Alexis, as she had been the entire time, remained unresponsive. She was looking directly at Jana's chest, but her blank stare said that she was not absorbing anything, and Jana started to doubt she could even hear Gary. He continued talking nonetheless. "Jana is here, because she can vouch for me when I say this." Gary gently placed his hands on Alexis' cheeks and turned her face so she was looking at him directly.

"Giovanni is dead."

At the mention of the man who killed her mother, Alexis blinked, suddenly snapping into the conversation. After the rest of the sentence sunk in, she looked at Gary in disbelief as he continued making statements. "Lance, Jana and I fought with Giovanni. He had the world's strongest Pokémon, can you believe that? Anyway, we beat him and he killed himself. Like, I know it's wrong to celebrate someone's death, but I thought you should know he's out of everyone's lives. Forever."

Jana watched as, within seconds, Alexis went from completely detached to crying on Gary's shoulder. He put his arms around her and let the tears flow at last. As Jana watched this embrace, she realized that Gary was in love with this broken girl, and she could not even imagine what these two had been through, Gary having to watch her go insane and Alexis losing her mother. Even thinking about it made Jana want to curl up in the corner and cry. Finally, Gary pulled away from the hug and turned Alexis to face his friend. "This is Jana. She dealt the final blow to Giovanni's Pokémon."

Alexis' eyes landed on Jana's face, and this time she was totally cognizant of her company. Jana nervously scratched at where her injury had been shortly after that battle. "Uh, yeah. I tried to stop him from committing suicide, because I knew he had wronged someone Gary loved, so I wanted him to face up to his crimes, but I guess it was for the best." After seeing that Alexis was starting to drift off again, Jana decided maybe being long winded was not the best idea. "Er, uh, yes. Gary's right. Giovanni's dead. Nobody has to deal with him ever again."

Alexis' tear-stained eyes blinked hard and she smiled weakly. She opened her mouth and a quiet, rough sound came out. Jana wasn't sure, but she thought that she heard Alexis say, "Jana. Thank you."

Gary's jaw dropped and he stared at Alexis. "Alexis. That's the first real thing you've said in over a year."

She looked back at Gary and nodded. "Thank you," she repeated.

It was then that the door slid open. The nurse peeked her head in and announced that it was time for Alexis' visitors to go. Gary scrambled to the door and pointed at his childhood best friend frantically. "She spoke!"

The two able trainers were shooed out with promises that they would investigate Alexis' condition and any changes that might occur over the next couple of days. Once outside the hospital, they hopped on Pidgeot and took off. "Would you like me to take you back to Olivine?" Gary asked.

Jana shook her head. "Blackthorn is closer and it's where the last gym is, so you can drop me off there."

"Are you sure you're ready to take on the gym tomorrow, though?" Gary asked.

"Good point. Yeah, Olivine it is, then."

This flight, again, was made in complete silence, but Jana could tell that her companion was in a significantly more hopeful mood than he had been before. When they landed, Jana hopped off the Pidgeot and took a few steps to gain her bearings. She was not expecting Gary to get off as well, so she was surprised when she turned around to find him wrapping his arms around her in a hug. "Oh... Well then."

"Thanks, Jana," Gary said. "I think we made a difference tonight."

"Really?"

"I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but that was the first time she spoke in a year. I'm so glad we could do that. Thanks. For everything."

Jana returned the hug and quietly said, "you're welcome."

* * *

END OF DAY ?:

"Wow, it's been for-fucking ever, hasn't it, Journal? Well, I have an explanation and once you hear (er, read?) it, you'll know I'm totally Justified in not having written in you for like a month or something?

"Well, obviously I didn't get the Blackthorn badge. Team Rocket got in the way before that. They tried to take over the radio tower in Goldenrod City so they could call their boss. Apparently they were completely lost without him to the point where they needed to send a distress signal across all of Johto and Kanto in order to get their shit together. Well, me, Gary, Lance and Whitney (she's the Goldenrod gym leader) tried to beat them, but we couldn't get to the top without a Key Card, so we had to go underground.

"Oh whatever, who cares about the small details? Long story short: Lance, Gary, Nicholas and I fought Giovanni in a four-on-one Pokémon battle! He used this super strong Pokémon called Mewtwo that's apparently the strongest Pokémon in the world.

"During the battle, I figured out what those rocks my father gave me do! They allowed Aerodactyl to mega evolve! Apparently, Mega Evolution is this thing where your Pokémon transforms and becomes extremely powerful for a battle. Mewtwo did it too, but Aerodactyl looked so sweet, dude. I'm so proud of her.

"Anyway, I haven't been writing in you very much because after I kicked Giovanni's ass, I kinda fell out of the radio tower. Oops. Apparently I got a concussion and it caused me to faint and fall out of the building, so I've been spending the last however long in the hospital. However, I'm finally out and the next stop is Blackthorn.

"I'm feeling a lot better now that I can move around, but I don't think I'm quite in shape enough to take on the Blackthorn City gym yet, so the next week or so is going to be dedicated to Jogging my Pokémon battling skills by taking my sweet-ass time getting from Olivine to Blackthorn. Wish me luck, Journal!

"This one's dedicated to Alexis."


	9. The Final Badge and Lots of Promises

END OF DAY ? (again:)

"Maybe I should think of something else to start this one with."

A WEEK AND A HALF LATER:

"I guess that'll work for now. At least until I figure out just how long ago I left.

"Yeah, remember when I said I'd take a week to get from Olivine to Blackthorn? Well, it ended up taking a little over a week and a half. It's not that I'm slacking, it's Just that if I get too worked up, I start to get dizzy and need to lie down, and my limp gets worse after that and makes everything so much slower, and basically it's been a huge headache getting this far. That's okay though, because everyone is going great! I feel like Houndoom has come along the farthest, because his temper is getting much more manageable and he's getting stronger every day. I'm so proud of him, along with my entire team. I've also been experimenting with Aerodactyl's power to mega evolve, and I think we're starting to get really powerful. Oh! Also, I heard Casey's voice in my head again the other day. I think her psychic powers are getting stronger and stronger. Maybe some day we'll be able to have full blown conversations! That would be so sweet.

"Anyway, other than that, there's nothing to really report on. I got to sass Morty again when I passed through Ecruteak City (again,) so that's always fun. I swear, you don't _go_ to Ecruteak, you _end up_ in Ecruteak. That place is the pits.

"Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to take on Blackthorn gym for real, and come hell, highwater, or insane criminal organizations, I will get that fucking badge!"

* * *

Early the next morning, Jana entered the Blackthorn City gym, determined to get her badge if it was the last thing she did. When she had powered her way past the gym trainers, she was confronted by possibly the most beautiful yet fearsome woman she had ever laid eyes on. She was tall, had the same color hair as Jana's, and wore a blue outfit that was reminiscent of dragon scales. This was rounded out by a pitch-black cape held on by a blue jewel around her neck. "Hello, challenger," she greeted. "Are you prepared to witness the true, terrifying power of Dragon-type Pokémon?"

"Dragons, huh? Never would have guessed," Jana said flatly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clair asked, indignantly putting her hands on her hips.

"Nothing, it's just I could tell. It was the cape, honestly. Is that a thing among dragon trainers or...?"

Clair pursed her lips. "Um, yes. Don't blame me. It's my cousin's fault."

"I see," Jana said. "Anyway, before we fight and I kick your ass—"

"Excuse you!"

"I'd like to say something."

Clair crossed her arms. "Alright, what is it?"

"You're very pretty," Jana said. "Like, I'm only seventeen, and you look like you're around forty—"

"Hey!"

"—but if I was older, and I do mean much older, I'd totally go for you. You're hot."

Clair raised an eyebrow. "I see. Well, thanks, I guess."

"Anyway, my dad says hi," Jana said.

Clair shook her head in confusion. "Who the fuck is your dad, and why is he saying hi? Is he a stalker I didn't know I had?"

"No, my dad's Lance. You've probably heard of him. He told me to say hi when I got to you."

Clair's eyes widened in response to this. "Lance? As in, Elite Four, Lance the Dragon Master Lance?"

Jana nodded confirmation. "You bet."

"How old did you say you are, again?"

"Seventeen."

Clair narrowed her eyes. "That asshole. Seventeen years and he never told me. He has some explaining to do."

"Wait, how do you and my dad know each other?" Jana asked. "Is there some sort of dragon trainer club where you meet and exchange stories?"

"Lance is my cousin I mentioned earlier," Clair said. "How does it feel to learn you just hit on—and insulted your great aunt?"

Jana was silent for a moment. Instead of the apology Clair was expecting, the girl's face lit up. "I can't believe I'm related to someone so cool! We both think my dad's an asshole and you have the same taste in hair color I do!"

Clair smiled at this observation. "Red's just tacky, why would I run around looking like my head's on fire?"

"_Right?_" Jana asked. "God, you're cool."

"So are we gonna fight for this badge or not?" Clair asked.

"Oh, right. Let's do this!"

Clair smiled and finally, the battle for the eighth Johto gym badge had begun. The battlefield was a circular series of platforms floating in a huge, square pool. This field was obviously designed to give Clair the advantage, but Jana paid it no mind, as it didn't matter who had the advantage. She was going to win no matter what. Clair's opener was a Gyarados, who splashed into the water and roared savagely.

"My last fight with a Gyarados didn't go so great, but this time, I'm gonna redeem myself," Jana declared. "Let's go, Aerodactyl!" The flying Pokémon sprung from her Pokéball.

"Interesting choice," Clair said. "Your rock typing is one of two types that are good against Gyarados, but it's also weak to Gyarados' water typing. I would discourage this choice, but considering you picked that so you wouldn't have to deal with unstable platforms, it's really a wise decision."

Jana nodded, only half paying attention. "Uh, huh...well, I really just picked her because she's awesome. And the rock type part. Didn't really consider the platform thing."

"I see," Clair said, quickly becoming fed up with this family member she didn't know she had until a few moments ago. "Doesn't matter. Gyarados, use Aqua Tail!"

"Fly out of its reach!" Jana called. Gyarados' tail became cloaked in a harsh blue light and it swung at Aerodactyl, who quickly elevated herself far out of Gyarados' reach. "Now use Ancient Power."

Rocks arose from the ground around Jana and flew at Gyarados, pelting it and causing it to recoil, disappearing under the water as it did so. Jana watched as the water slowly calmed, unable to decide what to do next. Clair used her hesitation to her advantage. "Gyarados, use Dragon Pulse!" Suddenly, the calm water started bubbling and rippling where Gyarados was moments ago, and within seconds, a giant, orange beam erupted from under the surface and slammed into Aerodactyl with a small explosion. Gyarados surfaced in time to watch its opponent land on one of the floating platforms shakily. "Now use Aqua Tail!"

"Thunder Fang, Aerodactyl!" Gyarados swung its tail at Aerodactyl once more, who narrowly avoided it and flew at it with a maw filled with crackling electricity. She latched on to the water Pokémon's neck and flew off after the initial shock wore off. However, she wasn't fast enough to avoid a third attempt at Aqua Tail, which sent her flying at the wall. "Damn, this one's probably gonna take some more muscle," Jana said. She dug around in her backpack and produced her small, glowing stone. "Alright, Aerodactyl, mega evolve!" She held the stone aloft and Aerodactyl became cloaked in the harsh pink light before emerging in her mega evolved form.

Clair gasped and took a step back. "What? You've mastered Mega Evolution? That's..."

"Ancient Power!" Jana yelled. Aerodactyl roared and assaulted Gyarados with the fierce attack. "Now use Agility." Before Gyarados or Clair could react, Aerodactyl flew around her opponent in circles, building speed as she did so. "Now go in with the Thunder Fang!" Thanks to her boosted speed and attack, thanks to Agility and her Mega Evolution respectively, Aerodactyl took down Gyarados without any struggle whatsoever. Clair recalled it and growled.

"Fine, if you're gonna go there, we'll skip the pleasantries. Kingdra, I choose you, baby!" Clair tossed the Pokéball into the water, from which emerged a quietly powerful Pokémon that intimidated Jana in a strange, new way. Its regal expression seemed to regard Jana and her Pokémon as a mere annoyance, as if they had interrupted its royal downtime. The slender blue Pokémon looked at Aerodactyl and the single wing-like appendage on its back wiggled a bit. "You ready for a beatdown, Jana? Because you're about to be beat. Down." Clair's serious tone scared Jana a bit, but she wasn't going to back down. If she could beat the strongest Pokémon in the world, she could beat this Kingdra, damn it!

"Ancient Power, Aerodactyl."

"Dive under the water," Clair shot right away. Kingdra did as instructed and swam in circles under the platforms.

Jana laughed. "You do realize we can still see it, right?"

"Oh, can you?" Clair asked. "Smokescreen!" Kingdra's long snout erupted in black smoke, which clouded the water until it seemed like a pool of black sludge.

"Shit. Well, your attack makes five rocks appear, so we can cover a wide area. Spread out your attack, Aerodactyl." Aerodactyl did as she was told, aiming her attack at random spots in the water.

Clair smirked. "Hydro Pump!" While Aerodactyl was making shots in the dark, Kingdra surfaced just long enough to unleash a powerful, spiraling blast of water at Jana's Pokémon. Aerodactyl didn't see the attack in time to dodge it, so Jana had to watch as she was swept up in the blast and it slammed her against the wall. Aerodactyl fell to the ground and struggled to get up.

"You've got this," Jana encouraged her. She looked to the water to see that Kingdra had already disappeared under the surface, still invisible thanks to the smoke. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Aerodactyl, use your Thunder Fang to electrify the water. No matter where Kingdra is, that'll hurt it!" Aerodactyl nodded before flying to the edge of the pool and sinking her teeth in, causing an electric current to course through it.

Clair laughed at this. "That would be a great idea if you were still fighting Gyarados."

"What do you mean?" Jana asked.

"Kingdra is water-type, and for figuring that out, I congratulate you," Clair started. "However, Kingdra is also a Dragon-type Pokémon. Thanks to those two typings, Kingdra is only weak to two types: Other dragons, and fairies. So your electric attack does laughable damage at best, especially since you didn't directly hit it. Now Kingdra is going to use Dragon Pulse and your Aerodactyl is going to faint." While Jana processed all this information, Kingdra sprang from the water and shot the orange blast at Aerodactyl, who was again slammed against the wall from the attack. She fell to the ground in her normal form and Jana cursed before switching her out.

"Let's see, I don't have any dragon or fairy attacks, so I can't use something strong against her..." She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Got it! Feraligatr, I choose you!" Feraligatr emerged from her ball, saw the pool of water and instantly jumped in, knowing a water battle was imminent.

Clair nodded. "Good choice, but it won't be enough."

"We'll just have to see about that," Jana spat. "Feraligatr, use Screech."

"What?"

Suddenly, Ferligatr emitted a loud, high-pitched, incredibly annoying sound, causing everyone else to flinch back and the humans to cover their ears. "Now Kingdra's defense is down, so let's chip away at it. Crunch!" Feraligatr swam at Kingdra and before it could react, bit it savagely. Once Kingdra wrestled out of her grip, it dove underwater, followed closely by Feraligatr.

"Dragon Pulse!" Clair yelled.

"Keep using Crunch!" Jana commanded. The smoke was starting to dissipate, but Jana could only see the occasional flash of orange light. She could do nothing but hope Feraligatr was fast enough to dodge the attack and get in close enough to land her own.

Eventually, the smoke cleared up completely, and they could see that the battle was still raging. Clair, fed up with this, finally decided to end it. "Hyper Beam!" Kingdra stopped in its tracks and charged its next attack. The intensely powerful beam that erupted from its snout hit Feraligatr head on and caused an explosion, sending Feraligatr flying out of the water. She landed hard on one of the platforms and Jana gasped.

"Are you alright, Feraligatr?" in response, her starter stood up shakily and gave her a thumb's up. "Good, now Crunch while it's immobilized!"

"Shit," Clair muttered. Feraligatr plunged back into the water and bit Kingdra once more.

"Now Slash!" Jana commanded. While Kingdra was still stuck in Feraligatr's maw, she slashed at it with her claws, causing the water dragon to finally succumb to fatigue.

"God damn it!" Clair yelled, stomping her foot. She recalled Kingdra and Jana crossed her arms smugly.

"What a beatdown," she snarked. "Now give me my badge. I earned it."

Clair growled at her angrily. "No. You didn't. You used Mega Evolution."

"Yeah, and?"

"It's cheap and unfair. You don't deserve this badge." With that, Clair stormed past Jana and out of the gym, leaving her and Feraligatr alone in the building, confused.

Once outside the gym, Jana asked around to see if anyone had seen where the gym leader had gone to. Finally, an old man had an answer for her. "I saw her go to the Dragon's Den. It's out across the lake behind the gym. She goes there to cool down when she's angry."

"Well, she didn't give me my badge, so I need her to cool down quick," Jana said. "Thanks, old guy." Before the offended old man could respond, Jana rushed back to the gym to look for the Dragon's Den. The giant cave across the lake looked promising, so she and Feraligatr made the trip across the water. Inside the cave, Jana found another small body of water, across which stood a huge, red temple with a green roof that held aloft bright paper lanterns. Another hop, skip and a jump across this water, and Jana stood outside the building, staring up at it curiously. She ventured inside to find Clair, who was yelling at an old man. They did not seem to notice her presence, so their conversation continued uninterrupted.

"I don't understand," Clair said. "I love my Pokémon more than anything, so why can't I mega evolve my Gyarados? My douchebag cousin can do it, so why can't I?"

"I believe this may be an inner problem. You believe that there is no way your bond with your Pokémon could be any stronger, when trainers with true power understand that the relationship between trainers and Pokémon is limitless in its power," the old man explained. "Now if you excuse me, we seem to have a visitor."

Clair turned to the new arrival and snarled. "You. What are you doing here?"

"I came for my badge, bitch," Jana said.

Clair disregarded this and turned to the old man. "Grandfather, this is the trainer I told you about. She unfairly used Mega Evolution in our battle. Tell her she doesn't deserve the Rising Badge."

Jana was going to comment on the fact that this man was apparently related to her, but promptly forgot to when he eyed her up and down. After a moment of tense silence, the man finally spoke up. "I have some questions for you."

Clair scoffed. "Great. This bullshit again."

"Question one," the old man started, regardless of Clair's protests and without waiting for Jana to respond. "What are Pokémon to you?"

"That's easy," Jana responded. "They're my friends. Without them, I'd quite literally be dead."

The man nodded knowingly. "I see. Next question: what helps you win battles?"

"Well, I trained my Pokémon a lot for this gym battle, and I wouldn't have won it without my killer strategies," Jana replied. "So training and strategy."

"Question three: what type of person do you wish to battle?"

Jana shrugged. "I'd battle anyone who wanted to. Besides, there's no real way to tell how strong they are until you battle them, right?"

The old man continued his question onslaught, seemingly ignoring Jana's responses. "What is most important for raising Pokémon? Violence, love, or knowledge?"

"Well, certainly not violence," Jana said. "That's for assholes."

"Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. Which is more important?"

This was where Jana's sharp tongue could not help her answer. She opened her mouth to answer several times before closing it and reconsidering. The thinking was starting to give her a headache by the time she finally came up with the answer. "Wait, this is a trick question. Any Pokémon could be weak or strong depending on how you train it."

The man nodded. "I see. Well, you pass."

"Pass what?"

"The test. Clair claimed you did not deserve the Rising Badge, but I see that you do, based on your answers."

Clair stomped her foot. "But that doesn't change the fact that she unfairly used Mega Evolution!"

"How was it unfair?" Jana demanded. "My Aerodactyl can do it, so why shouldn't we?"

The man explained calmly what Clair could not. "Clair cannot mega evolve her Pokémon. She does not have a strong enough bond with her Gyarados to do so, and even if she could, her gym leader code of honor would prevent her from gaining an unfair advantage in gym battles. It is generally frowned upon to mega evolve your Pokémon when your opponent cannot."

Jana nodded. "I see. I'm sorry, Clair. I didn't know it was rude to mega evolve. I thought I could just use it whenever."

The gym leader crossed her arms indignantly. "I don't accept your apology. You're just saying sorry to get your badge. But since my grandfather says you deserve it, I'll give it to you." She dug around in her pockets and produced a small, black badge in the shape of a dragon's head. "With this final badge, you may earn access into the Indigo Plateau, where the strongest trainers in all of Johto and Kanto gather. I'm supposed to say good luck, but in all honesty, I hope my cousin kicks your ass."

Jana smiled wide and took the badge. "Thanks, I think." She pocketed it and turned to leave without another word.

"Wait," the old man said. When she turned around, Jana was given a TM. "Take this. This is TM 59. It contains Dragon Pulse, a powerful dragon-type move that I only award to the trainers I see the most potential in."

"Thanks," Jana said. "I'll be sure to use it!"

With that, Jana left the dragon shrine for the surface.

"You know she's related to you, right?" Clair asked the old man.

"Oh really?"

Clair nodded. "She's Lance's kid that he never told us about."

The old man smiled. "So that's why she seemed so familiar. She's just like her father was when he was her age."

"Unfortunately," Clair sighed.

* * *

Jana spent the next hour or so at the Pokémon Center, resting her tired Pokémon and getting ready to venture south to New Bark. Every moment, she was inching ever closer to finally assuming the role of Champion and the excitement was starting to get to her. It affected her so much that she blatantly ignored the scenery that she would have enjoyed taking in otherwise. That route that connected Blackthorn and New Bark was hilly, mountainous, and bisected by a river running down the mountain, which, if Jana was paying attention, she'd realize originated from the Dragon's Den or the peak above it. However, instead of seeing the beautiful, rugged sights, she rushed down the mountain, eager to get home and spend an hour or so with her mother before venturing into the Indigo Plateau.

The only thing that could snap her out of her trance-like state was when she happened upon a familiar scene. A girl dressed in all red, looking to be only slightly younger than Jana, stood outside a cave entrance, looking concerned and kind of scared. Jana saw this and was vaguely reminded of something that happened to her on her very first night of travel.

She approached the other trainer, cautiously making sure she wasn't walking into a Pokémon battle, though if she was, she wouldn't have complained. "What's going on here? You look worried," Jana asked.

The girl nodded. "I'm hanging out here, making sure nobody tries to get into the cave."

"Why? What cave is it?"

When the girl replied with the name of Dark Cave, what was going on started to click in Jana's mind. "See, there's something really freakin' weird going on in that cave, dude."

Jana nodded. "I see. What kind of weird?"

"Like, weird noises and, like, screaming?" The girl explained. "It's almost like a—"

"And actual, legit ghost?" Jana finished.

Confused, the other trainer nodded. "Yeah, actually. How do you know about that?"

Jana held up a conciliatory hand. "I've got this. It's this really crazy girl in there. She hangs out with all the Zubat and cries for days when they get caught by other trainers. Come to think of it, she probably would have hated Team Rocket. We coulda talked her into like, mauling all the grunts who had Zubat or Golbat. I'm sure she isn't above all that."

"Are you done?" The girl asked, snapping Jana out of her speech.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'll go take care of it." With that, she walked into the cave on her own, ready to give the crazy bat girl a good old fashioned talking to.

Once inside the cave, Jana whipped out her flashlight and looked around, sweeping the beam of the light back and forth along the cave's cold ground. Suddenly, a Zubat zipped past her head, making a high-pitched noise as it did so. She smiled, having come up with a plan to lure the crazy girl out. She challenged the Zubat to a very one-sided battle. Once it was thoroughly annihilated, she loudly proclaimed her (false) intentions to capture it, successfully catching the girl's attention.

With a loud, ear-piercing screech, the girl emerged from the darkness and glared at Jana angrily. Now that she wasn't so confused, Jana could actually take in the bizarre sight of the girl. Her hair was greasy, gross and hung around her gaunt face like ripped up curtains. Jana couldn't tell if it was actually brown hair or if it was so dirty that it appeared brown. Her pupils were so dilated that Jana could only barely make out a sliver of brown surrounding the swollen pupils. "What are you doing to Flappy?" The girl demanded.

"Don't you remember me?" Jana asked. "I came in here about a month ago and you yelled at me then."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "I don't even remember my own name. All I know is that I am in Dark Cave and this is Flappy." A Zubat flew by her head and she smiled. "That one's Flappy too!"

Jana sighed. "I see. So it wouldn't matter to you if I told you to stop scaring people, would it?"

Suddenly, a third voice entered the conversation. "It usually doesn't."

Jana shook her head and redirected the beam at the intruding voice. It revealed another familiar face from the beginning of her adventure. "Uh, Falkner, right? What the hell are you doing here?" Jana asked.

In response, the Violet City gym leader sighed. "I'm keeping his nut-house under control." He approached the girl and put his hand on her shoulder. "Elida here has been hanging out in this cave for years, scaring the shit out of passerby, and no matter how many times I come in here and tell her to stop, she never listens."

"Her name's Elida?" Jana asked.

Falkner nodded while the subject of the question glared at him. "Hello, _you_," she spat.

"Don't you get snippy with me!" Falkner yelled. "I wouldn't have to be here so often if you would stop scaring people shitless! Do you even remember my name?"

The girl formerly known simply as crazy shook her head. "I just remember I hate you."

"I barely remember your name as well, to be fair," Jana said. "You're not that memorable."

"Shut up," Falkner snapped. "Look, dumbass, stop yelling at people about catching the Zubat. They're wild Pokémon, it'll happen. Don't you have a home to go to or something?"

Elida rolled her eyes. "I hate you, so I'm not listening to you."

"Why does she hate you so much?" Jana asked.

Falkner sighed once again. "Long ago, when I had just become a gym leader, this nutjob challenged me to battle after battle after battle and I won every single one. She could never win, so she somehow went crazy and started living in Dark Cave. Why? I don't fucking know, don't ask me. She's just kinda my responsibility now, so now you're caught up. And now you can leave. Goodbye."

Jana crossed her arms. "You sure you don't need any help? At all?"

Falkner nodded. "That's right. You can get on with your life."

"Really? Because if you did have this under control, you'd think Eli here would have stopped torturing people."

Falkner scoffed. "I don't need your sass. I'll have you know Eli_da_ listens to me better than anyone else, thank you."

"That's really sad," Jana said. "Well fine, I'll leave you here with your crazy girlfriend. See ya."

Before Falkner could think of an angry response, Jana had already turned to leave, promising to herself to never enter the Dark Cave again.

When she left the cave, she decided to start spreading the word. She informed the trainer out front that the strange noises inside were coming from a crazy girl and then told the girl to spread the information that if anyone needs a Zubat, they're better off catching one from the bottom of the Slowpoke Well or in Union Cave.

After making sure the word would spread, Jana continued home, eager to get back to interacting with sane people.

Her wish went unfulfilled, as the moment she entered town, Professor Elm was waiting for her in the twilit center of town. His face brightened at the sight of the young trainer and he opened his arms, beckoning her to give him a hug. After rolling her eyes and loudly emphasizing that she did not wish to embrace the weird man, Jana reluctantly gave in. Then, Johto's resident nerd sprung into a long, boring explanation of what had happened concerning that egg Jana helped him get.

"I told you it was a Togepi, right?"

Jana shrugged. "I honestly don't remember. It's been months."

"About a month," Elm corrected.

"Months. Anyway, continue?"

"Well, under my supervision and care, it evolved into a Togetic! And then Professor Oak hooked me up with a Shiny Stone and I evolved it again into a Togekiss. It's such a beautiful Pokémon. Do you want to see?"

"Not really," Jana said, shaking her head. "Look, no offense, dude, but I really just want to rest at home. I've got a long couple of days ahead of me."

Professor Elm, never one to actually be offended, nodded. "Sorry to hold you up then. Tell your Feraligatr I said hi, okay?"

"Sure thing dude." Jana finally made it inside as the sun was disappearing over the horizon for the day to find her mother sitting at the table across from someone else Jana hadn't expected to see.

Lance looked to the door and smiled widely. "Hey there, Jana."

"Yo," she said. "What are you two up to? Nothing naughty, I hope."

Jana's mom blushed in response to this teasing. "No, of course not. In fact, we were just wrapping up our conversation and your father was about to leave."

"Really now? But it's dark."

"That it is," Lance confirmed.

"So why are you leaving?"

Lance shrugged, unsure of what he was expected to say. "I have business to attend to at the Plateau. You'll understand if you've gotten strong enough to beat me and Gary tomorrow."

Jana smirked confidently in response. "Of course I'm strong enough. We didn't see either of you put Mewtwo in its place, now did we?"

Her father laughed a hearty, genuine laugh. "Don't know what to say to that, so I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Good," Jana nodded.

Lance stood up and made his way to Jana, who hadn't moved from beside the door. He put his arm around her and escorted her to the table. "Since we're both here, I have something I need to say to you."

Jana sat next to her mom and gave her a quick hug before turning her attention to Lance. "What do you need?"

"I got a very, er," Lance paused for a moment, trying to think of the correct word to say. Finally, he gave up on the synonyms completely. "I got a call today from someone who was not happy with me to say the least."

Jana cracked a smile at this news. "Oh yeah? Clair wasn't very happy when I told her I was your kid, so I'm not surprised."

Lance blushed, but this time it was out of embarrassment. "Uh, yeah. Might have let that one go unsaid. For, uh, seventeen years."

Jana shook her head. "Damn shame. She seems like she would be cool if she didn't have a massive Sudowoodo in her butt."

Jana's mom gasped. "Jana!"

"What? It's true. She's such a grouch."

"She's angry that I became Champion and she didn't," Lance explained. "And that I mastered Mega Evolution before she could."

"She still hasn't," Jana said. "She got pissed at me for mega evolving during our gym match."

"Yeah, don't do that," Lance said. "You can do it when you face me, but nobody else in the Elite Four will use it when they face you, so don't do it so willy nilly."

"Got it," Jana nodded. "Can't wait for my Mega Aerodactyl to annihilate you."

"We'll see about that!" Lance said, excited at the challenge. "Anyway, that brings me to my next topic. I want to give you something, but I'm not sure what it should be."

"What, like a present?" Jana asked.

"Yeah, like that. See, Clair told me that you had to dig around for your Key Stone, which is the smaller stone that allowed Aerodactyl to mega evolve when you touched it. Trainers who master Mega Evolution will, more often than not, find creative ways to wear their key stones so that they're within easy reach. I want to give you something that will hold your key stone, but I don't know what it should be."

"I see," Jana said. "What are my options?"

Lance's eyes brightened. "Limitless. Most trainers use wristbands, but I figure you wouldn't like that."

"Sounds boring," Jana agreed.

"I, personally, put mine on the cuff of my jacket. Some people put them in necklaces, earrings, rings, or even glasses. Anything it can fit in is a choice, basically."

"I see." Jana rummaged through her backpack and finally produced the tiny stone. She stared at its bright sheen, contemplating where she could wear it on her body that would be easily accessible. "Well, I can't wear it as a necklace, because that's where my PokéGear is."

"Maybe you could get a ring," Jana's mom suggested.

She responded to this suggestion by shaking her head. "I don't need everyone I talk to asking if I'm married." She continued thinking over the possibilities. "And I don't wear glasses, or suits with stupid fancy cuffs...I think I like the earring idea, but how about we mix it up a bit?"

"How so?" Lance asked.

Jana's hand shot up to the cartilage of her right ear. "I've always wanted my ear pierced right here, and this sounds like the perfect excuse. What do you think, mom? I know you've said I could get it done eventually."

Her mom nodded. "That's clever, I'll give you that. The only problem is where are you going to go to get it pierced?"

"Clair's told me about the best place for piercing in the region," Lance said. "We can take you there tomorrow if you'd like."

"You'd really do that for me?" Jana asked.

"Of course," Lance said. "It would take ten minutes tops."

Jana smiled. "So let's do it bright and early tomorrow morning. Of course, that does mean you have to skip your manly duties so you make sure you wake up early enough."

"So I have to stay here," Lance supplied.

"It won't kill you," Jana said. "I might, but after we get my ear pierced."

Lance laughed along with Jana's mother. "That sounds like a plan, I guess," the former champ said.

Later that night, Jana's mom had retired to bed, leaving her daughter and former lover to awkwardly interact without her guidance. "So, you're staying with my mom for real this time?" Jana asked warily.

"Absolutely," Lance said. "I've grown and matured over all those years, and this time I'll stick it out with her, no matter what happens." He looked around, suspiciously making sure they were indeed the only people awake in the house. "In fact, I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Jana gasped. "What?"

"I just haven't found the right way to do it yet. You won't tell her, will you?"

Jana crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "That's probably not the question you should be asking me."

"What, you want me to ask you permission to marry your mother?" Lance asked. When his daughter nodded, he sighed.

"Don't you huff at me. I was abandoned for seventeen years, I think I get a say or two," Jana insisted. This was still a sore spot for her, evidenced by how she said those words like they should have hurt.

And they did, shown by Lance's exasperated sigh. "Alright. Jana, can I marry your mother that we both love so very much?"

"We'll see after you take me out to get my ear pierced tomorrow."

Lance smiled. "Alright," he said with a chuckle. "We'll see."

"Good!" Jana said, standing from her chair and making her way to the stairs. "Now you get to bed mister. It's cold out and I'm sure mom could use your company." She winked at her father and rushed up the stairs into her room she hadn't been in for over a month, leaving Lance in the living room, slowly turning beet red at her implications.

Jana entered her room for the first time in over a month and looked around. She admired the posters that depicted powerful Pokémon and the occasional celebrity before sitting down at her computer desk. She looked around, making sure no one was watching before digging around in her backpack. She pulled out the picture of herself she had received from her father so long ago that it felt like an eternity. She examined it a moment before placing it on her desk and rummaging through one of its drawers. She finally produced a roll of tape, which she used to tape it on the wall her desk sat against. She smiled at it and looked back to her backpack. At the top sat her journal, which she contemplated writing in. However, the allure of her bed was too much, so she decided to forgo a journal entry for the time being.

Jana laid in her own bed for the first time in over a month and instantly fell asleep, warmer than ever in the bed she had known as her own for so long.

* * *

Despite Jana's insistence that they were going to be in Olivine bright and early, it was nearly noon before her parents could even drag her out of bed, much less goad her into getting ready to go out in public. Finally, Lance and his daughter landed in front of a building and walked in, chatting about nothing in particular on their way in. The process was quick and relatively painless, which surprised Jana, who figured these things took more time. Within ten minutes, they were walking out of the small business with one brand new piercing on Jana's right ear, which was held in place by her shining Key Stone. She played with it happily, remarking about how sweet it was.

Finally, she was struck by the fact that they were in Olivine. "Hey d—er, Lance, can we go visit a friend of mine while we're here? I want to show her my rad new piercing."

Lance shrugged. "I don't see why not. I don't have to be anywhere until later. Who are we visiting?"

"The gym leader here," Jana said.

"Ah, Jasmine," Lance nodded. "She's quite the capable gym leader. Did you struggle against her Steelix?"

"Oh man, you have no idea dude. She's so strong and so cool, but she also really nice and sweet." Jana's smile had grown even wider when the topic of Jasmine was breached and now her happiness was shining almost as bright as the lighthouse at night. They reached the gym and Jana eagerly opened the door, letting Lance go in first. When he made a move to enter, his PokéGear started ringing. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.

"I have to take this call. You go in and tell Jasmine I said hi. I'll be waiting out here."

Jana nodded and bounded inside while Lance answered his incoming call.

She entered the gym and was greeted by an explosion rocking the building. She looked to the source of the noise and, when the dust cloud cleared, saw that Jasmine's Steelix was currently engaged in battle against a challenger's Heracross. "Use Brick Break!" The male trainer commanded frantically.

"Rock Throw to stop it!" Jasmine called. The small, blue bug ran at Steelix, who dug her tail into the ground and produced a large rock, which she hurled at the challenger. Heracross was sent sprawling and she followed up with a Fire Fang, per her trainer's request. Heracross fell to Steelix's relentless attacks and the trainer stormed out of the gym, cursing his bad luck. Jasmine saw him out, telling him that he'd get it next time, before turning to her visitor. "Hey Jana!" She said happily. She threw her arms around Jana and hugged her tightly. "How's your week been?"

Jana shrugged. "Long, only somewhat productive, but I got my final gym badge!"

Jasmine gasped. "Did you really?" Jana nodded proudly and the gym leader continued. "So you're gonna challenge the Elite Four next, right?"

Jana nodded once again. "Once I get back home, I'm setting off within the hour."

Jasmine smiled. "I'm so happy for you, Jana! I'm gonna be rooting for you the entire time. And you've got to come back to Olivine once you become the Champion. When you do, you can tell me all about it over a nice dinner."

"What?"

Jasmine nodded. "I've just decided. If you become the champion, I'm going to treat you to a dinner at the nicest place in Olivine."

Jana cracked a smile. "Alright then, it's a date."

Jasmine laughed. "So what brings you to Olivine?"

Jana brushed her hair aside and pointed at her ear. "I came and got my ear pierced and figured I'd drop in while I was in the neighborhood."

Jasmine admired the new piercing. "Wow, it looks great on you! And is that a Key Stone?"

Jana nodded once more. "Yup. Got the piercing so I could have a place to keep the damn thing."

"That's really creative," Jasmine said.

"I know, right?"

"Which mega Pokémon do you use?" The gym leader asked.

"Aerodactyl," Jana answered. "My dad gave me one and its mega stone. It's pretty freakin' sweet. Do you use Mega Evolution?"

Jasmine shook her head. "I haven't been able to get my hands on a Steelixite."

"Well, if you ever do, I'm totally challenging you to a rematch with our megas."

Jasmine bounced happily. "I'd love that! You'd so go down."

"Like hell I would," Jana said playfully. Suddenly, the door opened and Lance stepped in, waving to Jasmine. "Oh, looks like my dad's ready to go. I'll talk to you when I become Champ, alright?"

Jana's sentence went mostly unheard, because when she heard the dad part, Jasmine's jaw dropped. "Wait a minute. Your dad is Lance the Dragon Master?"

"What? Oh, yeah...It's a bit of a long story. Let's just say he's not that great."

"I'm right here you know," Lance protested. "We came all this way to get your ear pierced and this is how you thank me?"

Jana stuck her tongue out defiantly and giggled. "Sorry. Sorta."

"Anyway, I have something to attend to that just came up. We should get going now," Lance explained.

Jana nodded. "Okay, I'll be right out." Lance flashed a thumbs up before exiting the building, leaving Jana and Jasmine alone once more.

"See you later, Jana," Jasmine said happily.

"Next time I see you, I'll be the champion of the entire region," Jana promised.

"I'll be looking forward to it," Jasmine replied with a cute laugh. They hugged once more and Jana left, ready to depart back to New Bark. Her and Lance took off on one of his Dragonite and they struck up conversation.

"So have you thought about what I asked you last night?" Lance asked, having to yell to be heard over the wind.

"I've thought about it, and I've decided I need to think about it a little bit more," Jana said.

"Aw man," Lance said.

Jana laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'll get back to you on that."

"Okay, but don't take too long, okay?"

"Okay."

Lance spent the rest of the flight listening to Jana talk on and on about Jasmine and how good of friends they had become.

They landed in New Bark and Jana hopped off Dragonite. "Are you gonna come in and say bye to my mom?" She asked.

Lance shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but this is really important. Tell her I'll be back to see her tomorrow."

Jana shook her head. "Can't do that."

"Why not?"

Jana pointed at her dad accusingly. "Because by this time tomorrow, I'll be fighting you at the Indigo Plateau. Can't do that if you're hanging out down here getting it in."

Lance smirked. "Alright then, day after tomorrow."

Jana nodded. "Better. See ya tomorrow."

Jana spent the next hour or so catching up with her mom over her favorite meal, her mom's Cinnabar Volcano Burger. After she was nice and fed, Jana bid her mom farewell with the same promise she left Jasmine with. After a tight hug and a few I Love You's, Jana set off to the east. After a short, ten minute cruise on the back of her Feraligatr, Jana took her first step on Kanto soil. At least, she thought it was until she remembered that the mental hospital Gary took her to was in fact in Kanto. She brushed that aside and made a beeline for the fabled Victory Road.

The cave itself wasn't as challenging as she had heard people say it was. It was a mostly empty cavern, save for the sounds of Graveler and Zubat making various noises in the distance. She had found the exit to the cave and was eagerly pursuing the light of day when a hand on her shoulder stopped her cold. She whirled around, angry that someone touched her without her permission to find Nicholas leering at her.

"It's about time you made it here," he said.

"Cut me some slack, I was out of commission for a while," Jana said. "What are you doing in here, anyway?"

Nicholas looked away, embarrassed. "I'm training. The Elite Four are so powerful, I can barely even make it to Lance, and when I do, he always kicks my ass. I've been at it for a week now."

"Sorry to hear that," Jana said. "Sure sucks to know that I'll be the champion by this time tomorrow, huh?"

Nicholas shook his head. "No way am I letting you out of here without battling me first. If you can't even beat me, what would the point be of challenging the Elite Four?"

"That's a good point," Jana said. "Promise not to throw a tantrum when I beat you this time?"

"Got it," Nicholas said.

"Alright, let's do this shit."

Nicholas' first Pokémon was Sneasel, while Jana opted to use the Pokémon that saved her life. Nicholas scoffed at his type disadvantage, but shook it off. "Okay Sneasel, let's open up with Icy Wind."

"Dodge it and use Metal Claw, Scizor!" Scizor ran at Sneasel and, though he was unable to dodge its attack, he didn't suffer much damage and smacked it with a glowing silver claw. Sneasel fell to the ground and Nicholas quickly recalled it.

"No point in using Sneasel if it's gonna get its ass beat," he reasoned. "Let's even the playing field by getting rid of type advantages altogether. Gengar, let's go!" He sent out Gengar, who laughed at Scizor and assumed a battle stance. "Shadow Punch!"

"Bullet Punch!"

Scizor and Gengar rushed each other with their extremely fast moves. After a few seconds of dodging and weaving, Gengar's fist collided with Scizor's hard claw, causing neither party any significant damage. "Lick!" Nicholas called. Gengar took the opportunity to lick Scizor's face, causing the steel bug to step back, confused. He didn't take much damage, but he froze up a bit, suffering from paralysis. "Perfect," Nicholas smirked. "Shadow Ball!" Gengar formed the pitch-black ball between its hands and hurled it at Scizor, who took the full force of the blow. He stumbled back, trying to shake off the hit.

"Night Slash!" Jana called, suddenly remembering the fact that she had that move.

"Shit," Nicholas said. Scizor's claw turned black and it swung at Gengar, hitting the ghost hard and sending it flying.

"Do it again!"

"Sucker Punch!" Nicholas called desperately. Scizor ran at Gengar again, but Gengar disappeared before he could reach it. It reappeared behind Scizor and smacked the back of his head, sending him to his knees. "Shadow Ball!" Due to the close proximity, there was no way for Scizor to dodge, so he took the attack's full force. He fell to the ground, unable to withstand the onslaught, and Jana had to recall him.

"Not half bad, but I'm afraid Houndoom will have to stop your Gengar." Jana tossed her next Pokéball and Houndoom jumped into battle with a snarl. "Flamethrower!" Houndoom shot a stream of fire at Gengar, who was not fast enough to dodge. "Now go in for a Bite!" Houndoom then ran at Gengar, ready to snap at it.

"Payback!" Nicholas called. After Houndoom had latched onto Gengar tightly, Gengar's body started glowing brightly. It swatted at Houndoom and caused him to fall back because of the increased power of its move.

"Houndoom, Payback only works on physical moves, so keep pelting it with Flamethrower," Jana instructed. Nicholas cursed under his breath as Gengar was once again faced with a wall of fire.

"Shadow Ball!" Gengar launched its attack into the fire, causing a small explosion. "Now Shadow Punch!" Gengar rushed at Houndoom and punched it hard, only to be greeted by a point blank Flamethrower. Gengar stumbled back and fell unconscious. "Damn it," Nicholas said as he recalled Gengar."Let's do this, Golbat." The bat Pokémon sprung from its ball and snarled at Houndoom. "Acrobatics!"

"Use Bite!"

The rest of the battle consisted mostly of Jana kicking Nicholas' ass. His Kadabra, Sneasel and Magneton all fell before Typhlosion finally took out Houndoom, at which point Jana sent Feraligatr into battle. "Does this seem familiar?" Jana asked.

Nicholas nodded. "Hard to believe that first fight was only a little over a month ago. This time will be different though. Typhlosion, let's go. Use Double-Edge!"

"Slash!" The two trainers' starter Pokémon ran at each other, preparing their attacks. Typhlosion was just barely faster than Feraligatr and slammed into her hard, causing her to stumble back. Wincing from the recoil, Typhlosion righted itself and awaited its next command. "Crunch!" Jana commanded. Feraligatr opened her maw wide and bit Typhlosion with enough strength to lift it off the ground. She tossed her opponent from her mouth, sending it tumbling along the rocky ground. "Now let's try Slash again." Before Typhlosion could recover, Feraligatr slashed at it, causing it to finally fall to the barrage of attacks.

Nicholas shook his head while he recalled his starter. "Damn it. Well, you tried."

"Yeah!" Jana cheered. "Way to go, Feraligatr! We didn't even need to use a water attack this time!" She brought Feraligatr in for a hug before returning her to her ball and approaching Nicholas.

"You only lost two Pokémon that time," Nicholas said. "You are much stronger than I gave you credit for. You can definitely give the Elite Four a run for their money."

"Thanks," Jana said. "You'll be able to too, if you keep training."

Nicholas shook his head in response. "Nah, I think I've peaked. I don't think it's possible for me to get much stronger than this."

"That's loser talk," Jana said quickly. "There is no limit to your power if you believe in yourself! Besides, some of your Pokémon can still evolve, so you haven't peaked yet, even if you could."

"Good point, I guess," Nicholas said with a shrug. "Well anyway, you go show those assholes who's boss, okay?"

Jana nodded with a smile. "You've got it. Next time I see you, I'll be the Champion of the entire region."

"You better be," Nicholas said with a smirk. "Now get out of here already."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Jana turned and ran for the exit to the cave. When she reached the end, she let her eyes adjust to the waning light of day before taking in the sight of the twilight-soaked castle known as the Indigo Plateau. She gawked at the huge building for a few moments before finally entering the huge doorway that stood open, inviting only the most powerful trainers inside. She didn't know what she was expecting to greet her inside, but the first room in the castle was exactly like the ground floor of any regular Pokémon Center with an extra counter to buy supplies. She healed her Pokémon and asked the nurse if this center also rented out rooms.

The nurse nodded and motioned toward a hallway to her left. "Down that hallway are the guest rooms. You may stay the night there if you need to."

"Okay sweet," Jana said. "Thanks!" With that, she retired for the night, leaving the long chain of intense battles for the next day.

* * *

DAWN OF THE FINAL BATTLE:

"That has a real nice ring to it, I think. Anyway, hey there Journal! I'm sitting here, at the Indigo fucking Plateau! I am five battles away from becoming the Champion of Johto! How fucking sweet is that! I'm so fucking pumped, I don't think I'll even be able to sleep tonight! I'll try to take it easy on the exclamation marks, but no promises. Sorry.

"Anyway, yesterday, I totally beat the shit out of the Blackthorn Jym—wait shit, that word starts with a G. Anyway, I totally beat Clair, even if I kinda cheated. Oops. After that, I ran into the freak in Dark Cave again. Remember her? I told you about her so long ago, it's ridiculous. Anyway, apparently her name is Elida and Falkner's the reason she's so screwed up. Way to go, asshole.

"After that, I finally got home and Lance was there, of all people. I'm really glad he's going through the trouble of keeping my mom company. That's cool of him. Anyway, today he took me and got my ear pierced! It's such a sweet piercing, and it's where I hold my mega evolve-y thing. It's so cool! I love it.

"And apparently I might have a date when I become Champion? I don't know if it was said it would be a date or if I said it would be a date, or maybe I'm assuming, but uh, that doesn't matter. The important part is that I will get free food and be the champ at the same time! So fucking cool. Anyway, next time I write in you, I will be the Champion of Johto, Just you wait and see!"


	10. The Final Battle Times Five

**Hot diggity damn it's been a long time since I posted a chapter! I wholly apologize for my slouching. I've started other projects, and I guess a part of me doesn't want this to be over yet? Either way, it's no excuse, so please forgive me for slacking on updates.**

* * *

Jana had long imagined being unable to sleep on the eve of the biggest day of her battling career. Growing up, she always expected the night before challenging the Elite Four to be spent awake in anxious anticipation of the five battles to come, but as it turned out, she slept like a rock. The alarm on her PokéGear barely even woke her up at the time she had planned on. She attributed her sudden bout of deep sleeping to her recent head injury, but there was no way to be certain.

Jana quickly disregarded the train of thought that concerned her injuries and made a mad dash to the main room of the Indigo Plateau. She stood in front of a pair of huge doors, in front of which stood two men in tuxedos. After checking her badge case for eight badges, they allowed her through and her Elite Four challenge had begun with the same words her gym challenge did.

"It's Jana time, bitches."

The first Elite Four member was a tall, lanky man named Will. He wore a get-up one would expect to see at a masquerade ball and spoke in a way that reminded Jana of a certain other very flamboyant trainer she had met on her journey. "Welcome to the Pokémon League!" He greeted. "My name is Will. I have spent many years traveling the world and making my Psychic-type Pokémon more powerful. Recently, I was, at long last, accepted into the Elite Four."

"Yeah yeah, thanks for the heads up about what Pokémon you'll be using," Jana said as she grabbed Houndoom's Pokéball from her belt.

Will scoffed, not happy with being interrupted. "Fine. But know this before we begin: For me, losing is not an option!"

Scizor and Houndoom dominated in the battle against Will. Scizor only needed to be brought in when Will's Slowbro put an abrupt end to Houndoom's domination. Despite this, the battle was still a lengthy and slightly tiring one. Once the battle was over, Will recalled his second Xatu and sighed deeply. "I see there's a reason you're the first Elite Four member," Jana said.

"Don't you get cheeky now," Will advised her. "You've yet to experience the true ferocity of the Elite Four. Go on and see what you're really up against."

"Gladly," Jana said with a nod. She left the room and, after taking a moment to heal up her injured Pokémon, ventured into the second room, which startled her.

It was filled with vines and the ground was covered in grass. A huge log rested in the corner and, strangest of all, no one seemed to be in it. Jana raised an eyebrow and looked around the room in confusion. "Um, hello?" She called into the seemingly empty room. "Is there an Elite Four member in here or is this a free pass?"

Suddenly, a dark shape dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of her with a loud thud. She screamed and stumbled back before the shape revealed itself to be an old, aging man with a black get-up and a red scarf. He laughed at Jana's distress while she struggled to regain her composure. "Greetings challenger! I am Koga of the Elite Four."

"Dude!" Jana yelled. "Were you fucking hanging on one of those vines up there?"

Koga nodded. "I am a ninja. I master the shadows, and my battle style will confound and destroy yo—"

"You dropped in from the _ceiling!_" Jana said once more.

Koga rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did. Are we gonna battle or not?"

Jana shook her head. "Fine, fine. Just don't scare me like that again."

Koga laughed again. "Very well. I'll show you why I was deemed worthy enough to be promoted from gym leader to Elite Four member."

In the battle that ensued, Koga attempted to subject Jana's Pokémon to every status condition he could think of. Poison, sleep and confusion plagued the battle as Jana struggled to keep up with Koga's crafty techniques. Fortunately, Jana negated the poison problem when she sent Nidoqueen into battle. Even more fortunate was her ground typing, which effortlessly took down three of Koga's five Pokémon. Houndoom managed to take care of Forretress and then it all came down to an aerial showdown between Jana's always trusty Aerodactyl and Koga's extremely speedy Crobat. In this battle, Jana managed to win without cheating and mega evolving her Aerodactyl. When Crobat finally fell to the ground, unable to battle further, Koga nodded calmly.

"You managed to best everything I threw at you. You truly are worthy of those eight badges you posses. Go on and put your skills to the true test. Your next opponent is a man who has been a member of the Elite Four longer than I've been a gym leader."

"What's with all the Elite Four members being boys?" Jana asked. "Seems kinda fishy."

"We used to have Agatha and Lorelei, but things happened," Koga explained.

"Like?"

"Lorelei left to travel the world and Agatha..." Koga paused. "Well, let's just say I'm here for a reason. But hey, maybe you can change that problem."

"If being champion counts, I'll absolutely change that problem today," Jana said. "That's a promise."

Koga smiled and nodded. "Then go forth. I wish you good luck!"

The next room was also decorated strangely. The ground was littered with rocks and red dust. In the middle of the room sat a huge, shirtless man who seemed to be meditating. He held a cross-legged pose and his fists were pressed together. When the door behind Jana closed, his eyes fluttered open and he stared at his new challenger intently.

"Um, hey?" Jana said, unsure of what this man was doing.

He closed his eyes once more and brushed some of his long blue hair from his face. "I am Bruno of the Elite Four. You are?"

"I'm Jana."

Bruno smiled knowingly. "Ah, so you are the girl Lance has told me so much about. Nice to meet you, and congratulations for besting one of the most powerful Pokémon in the world."

"Thanks," Jana said, puffing her chest out proudly.

"That is what I would say if I believed Lance's outlandish story."

"Excuse me?"

"I do not spend much time with civilization," Bruno explained. "I spend most of my time training in the wilds and do not keep up with the news. We only come to this castle when we are expecting a challenge."

"Are you using the royal 'we,' or...?" Jana asked.

"Me and my Pokémon," Bruno said. "I see much potential in you, but I also see that you are stubborn, unruly, and somewhat dense."

"Hey!"

"I do not believe that you have the strength to face me and come out on top, but the only way to learn is through battle. Put up your dukes, trainer. Hoo hah!"

By the time Casey managed to take down Hitmontop, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan without much struggle, Bruno was strongly reconsidering his stance on Jana's power. When his Onix fell to Feraligatr's might was when the battle truly got interesting. Bruno's Machamp was unbelievably strong and took out both Feraligatr and Aerodactyl without breaking a sweat. Casey's re-entrance was expected, but the resulting battle was the most intense yet. It all came down to one well-placed Future Sight that managed to knock Machmp unconscious a fraction of a second before it delivered the finishing blow to a beaten and bewildered Casey.

Bruno recalled Machamp and nodded. "I see."

"Changed your mind about my potential now, haven't you?" Jana bragged.

"I lost and therefore have no right to say anything," Bruno said flatly. "Go on and face the final member of the Elite Four. Your father has been looking forward to this day."

And that was when the day really got intense.

Up until this point, there had been short, straight, plain hallways separating the different rooms, which Jana used to heal up her Pokémon and psyche herself up. The hallway standing in between Bruno's room and Lance's was long and winding, decorated with orange wallpaper that had pictures of dragons drawn in the style of cave paintings. She could pick out pictures of Dragonite, Gyarados, and Charizard, while some of the figures' identities were lost on her. Finally, the winding hall opened up into a large room with rows of dragon statues on either side of a long, red carpet. Standing at the end of the carpet atop a short flight of stairs was the man Jana had been waiting to do battle with for so long.

He nodded at her, nervously tapping at his cuff. "Hello, daughter of mine. Or, since you're a formal challenger now, I should use your real name, shouldn't I?" After his daughter nodded, he continued. "Well then. Welcome, Jana of New Bark. I am Lance, the fourth and strongest of the Elite Four. Known as Lance the Dragon Master, I have faced many a challenger and very few have made it past my sheer power. Now, without further ado, show me just how powerful you've become!"

Jana gave her father a cheesy grin. "Right. You asked for it!" The penultimate battle of Jana's journey began with two Pokémon simultaneously emerging from their balls. Having no idea which Pokémon her father would use, Jana decided to open with Casey, while her first opponent was a familiar Pokémon. "Wait, you've already trained that thing to be strong enough to fight in the Pokémon League?"

Lance nodded. "The red Gyarados was already very powerful. All it took was a little bit of having it warm up to me. He reminds me of you in that respect."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Jana said. "Casey, use Calm Mind." Casey crossed her legs and started floating in her sitting position. Jana could feel the power coming off of her grow stronger as she executed the stat-boosting move. "Now use Future Sight." Casey's eyes started glowing, but nothing happened.

Lance took this opportunity to start attacking. "Dragon Pulse, Gyarados!" Gyarados' wide maw started glowing with orange flames and it launched the attack towards Casey.

"Light Screen!" Casey erected a large, purple barrier of light in between her and Gyarados. The attack hit the wall hard and slowed down considerably. When it hit her, it hit with much less force than it would have unobstructed, allowing Casey to easily shake it off. "Now use Psychic." Casey fired a blue beam out of one of her spoons and when it hit Gyarados, it outlined his body. Casey lifted him out of the pool in the center of the battlefield and slammed him into the wall.

Lance smirked. "Good job making your Pokémon more resilient against my special moves, but the bad news is that Dragon Pulse is Gyarados' _only_ special move. Use Waterfall!" Gyarados lifted himself off the ground and charged at Casey, enveloping his body in a coat of water.

"Dodge it and use Psycho Cut." Casey jumped to the side, using her superior speed to outrun Gyarados' savage attack. One of her spoons emitted a purple light and she swatted at Gyarados. She managed to hit him point blank and send him sprawling. Just as he attempted to get up, Future Sight finally slammed into him with all of its force. Gyarados fell under Casey's unrelenting might and Lance recalled him without a word.

Until Gyarados had disappeared completely, at which point he launched into an essay. "Good job. You recognize that Alakazam is a speedy Pokémon, but can't withstand many physical attacks. However, all three of my Dragonite can counter it. Now the question is, which one do I use?"

"Do you give this spiel to all of your challengers, or...?"

Lance laughed and grabbed a Pokéball from his belt. "Actually, yeah. It helps to know what you're doing right. Especially if you're about to lose. Go, Dragonite!" Lance's first Dragonite emerged from its ball and roared at Casey.

"Furture Sight," Jana instructed.

"Thunder Wave!" As Casey set up her future attack, the antennae on Dragonite's head shot a large electric beam at her. Before she could finish setting up the attack, she was enveloped in a ball of electricity. She yelled in pain and when it disappeared, started moving noticeably slower. "Now take advantage of her paralysis and use Dragon Rush!" Dragonite flew at Casey, surrounded by a deep blue aura.

"Dodge and use Psychic!" Jana yelled. Despite Casey's best attempt, she couldn't jump out of Dragonite's path and was slammed into with the devastating blow. She tumbled backwards and barely managed to stand up. "Recover," Jana said next.

"Quick, use Thunder!" Casey started healing herself slowly, but wasn't fast enough to negate the damage that Thunder was about to do. While her Light Screen was still standing, it didn't weaken the ridiculously powerful electric attack quite enough, which cost Jana her first Pokémon of the battle.

"You did good, Casey," Jana said, kissing the Pokéball once it once again held her Alakazam. Next up was Nidoqueen. "You like using electric moves so much, why don't we make them go away? Nidoqueen, it's your turn!"

Once Nidoqueen had emerged, Lance nodded. "Wise choice. You just negated half of Dragonite's moveset. However, I still have Hyper Beam. Go!" Dragonite opened its mouth wide and shot the powerful blast at Nidoqueen, who managed to take the hit thanks to Light Screen.

"Quick, while he can't move, poison him with Toxic!" Nidoqueen hurled (literally—like out her mouth) a ball of thick, purple sludge at Dragonite. It coated the Dragon-type, badly poisoning it. "Now follow up with Smack Down!" Nodoqueen thrust her hand into the ground and produced a large rock, which she threw at Dragonite. The rock hit its wing hard, sending the dragon falling to the ground.

"Shit," Lance said. Now that Dragonite was on the ground, it was completely vulnerable to Nidoqueen's more dangerous type—ground. "Quick, use Dragon Rush!" Dragonite ran at Nidoqueen, cloaked in the blue aura. However, being forced to use its stubby legs slowed it down considerably.

"Earthquake!" Jana yelled. Nidoqueen stomped on the ground hard enough to shake the entire building. The rumbling resulted in a pillar of rock erupting form the ground and hitting Dragonite under its chin. This stopped its attack in its tracks and knocked the dragon on its back. "Now while it's down, use Body Slam." Dragonite tried to get up, but the poison caused it to flinch, which stopped it from getting up just long enough to allow its opponent to body slam it with one hundred, thirty-two pounds of angry Nidoqueen. This was enough to bring Dragonite's battle to an end, which Lance lamented on as he recalled it. "Dragonite number one is in the bag," Jana celebrated. "You're doing great, Nidoqueen." Her Pokémon smiled and nodded as Lance sent out his second Dragonite.

"Don't get too excited. This one has something a bit more harmful to Nidoqueen than Thunder." The second Dragonite roared and Jana rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, if you can pull it off, I'm sure I'll be terrified," Jana said, pretending to be bored. "Nidoqueen, Smack Down again." Nidoqueen grabbed another chunk of the ground and hurled it at Dragonite.

"Use Blizzard," Lance commanded. Dragonite opened its mouth wide and shot a huge blast of cold air towards Nidoqueen's attack. The rock lost its momentum until, when it finally hit Dragonite, it bounced off its belly harmlessly. Nobody could lament this, however, because the ice attack was unaffected by the rock and slammed into Nidoqueen hard. She stumbled back a few steps, somehow managing to keep herself standing. "Now use our Dragon Blizzard combo!" Dragonite flew at Nidoqueen, cloaked in the fiery blue aura indicative of Dragon Rush.

"Smack Down!" Nidoqueen lobbed another rock in Dragonite's direction, hoping to stop it in its tracks. In response, Dragonite dived and hit the ground directly in front of Nidoqueen, causing a cloud of smoke to erupt from the impact. Before the smoke in front of her could clear, Nidoqueen was blasted with a point-blank Blizzard attack. She fainted, unable to withstand that attack twice in a row, and Jana called her back into her ball. "You did great, Nidoqueen," she said as her Pokémon disappeared. "Now Houndoom, it's your turn!" She tossed her next Pokéball into the fray and Houndoom emerged, fired up and ready to take on Lance.

Aforementioned dragon master decided now was the time to bring back an old strategy. "Thunder Wave."

"Thunder Fang, Houndoom." Houndoom ran at the dragon with crackling electricly-charged fangs while his opponent shot that electric current from earlier at him. He ducked and narrowly dodged the beam before jumping up and biting down hard on its wing. Dragonite flinched at the electricity surging through it and struggled to shake Houndoom off. "When it throws you off of it, use Flamethrower!" Jana called. Right after she said it, Dragonite managed to shake Houndoom away. The second he wasn't latched onto it, Houndoom fired a blast of fire and propelled himself across the battlefield, landing right in front of Jana. The fiery attack didn't phase Dragonite much and the two combatants stared each other down over the large distance between them. Jana spoke to Houndoom in a hushed tone. "If you can keep your distance, you can easily get around his long-range attacks. Just watch where he's aiming and go the opposite way, alright?" Houndoom nodded understanding.

"Dragonite, use the Dragon-Beam combo," Lance said. Dragonite flew at Houndoom, surrounded by Dragon Rush's aura, which Jana was well prepared for.

"Flamethrower!" Houndoom unleashed the inferno, which collided with Dragonite, causing a small explosion. Out of the smoke came a Hyper Beam, but the spot it was aimed at no longer held a Houndoom. Houndoom had jumped out of the way and managed to circle around Dragonite while it was blinded. "Now Crunch!" He leapt at Dragonite and latched onto the back of its neck. Dragonite roared in pain and struggled to reach Houndoom with its stubby little arms.

"Calm down," Lance said. His Dragonite had started to get visibly frustrated about not being able to reach Houndoom. "Shake him off with a Thunder Wave." Dragonite's horn cracled with electricity and shot the beam directly in the air. When the attack came down, it cloaked Dragonite in electricity, causing Houndoom to fall off, paralyzed. "Now use Hyper Beam before it can dodge!" Dragonite launched the powerful move and hit Houndoom directly, sending him flying.

When he landed, he shook off the attack, barely managing to stand straight. "Use Crunch while it can't move," Jana called. Houndoom ran at Dragonite and bit it hard again. This time it was too much, and Houndoom's fangs brought Dragonite to the ground, unable to battle further.

"Return, Dragonite. You did well." Lance put away his Pokéball and grabbed a new one in one fluid motion. Jana rolled her eyes at his flourish as he sent out his next Pokémon. "Aerodactyl, go!" A familiar Pokémon emerged, roaring at Houndoom.

"This won't end well," Jana commented. "Houndoom, use Thunder Fang."

"Stone Edge." While Houndoom ran at Aerodactyl, Lance's Pokémon landed on the ground hard, causing a lot of small stones to raise from the ground. It flapped its wings and smacked the rocks toward Houndoom, who was unable to dodge due to paralysis. The rocks chipped away at him until finally, one tripped him and he yelped in pain before tumbling across the battlfield, landing at Aerodactyl's feet unconscious.

"Whoa, that's an awesome move," Jana said. "When does Aerodactyl learn that?"

"It's a TM," Lance explained. "Maybe some day I'll let you use it on yours."

Jana nodded as she recalled Houndoom, congratulating it as she did. "Okay Scizor, let's go." Scizor jumped from its ball and snapped his claws at Lance's Aerodactyl. "Speed up with Agility, and we'll talk when you're faster."

"Crunch." Aerodactyl flew at Scizor, but he was prepared and sped out of the way. He continued flying circles around Aerodactyl as his speed climbed. When he couldn't possibly go any faster, he landed next to Jana, waiting for his next instruction.

"Now Swords Dance around its attacks. We'll talk again when you're hitting like a truck," Jana instructed. Scizor performed the strange dance that raised his attack, nimbly avoiding all of Aerodactyl's moves as he did so. When Jana figured Scizor had sufficiently raised his attack, it was time to launch her onslaught. "Use Iron Head!" Scizor's whole head started glowing silver and he flew at Aerodactyl. He slammed into it hard, sending Aerodactyl tumbling through the air.

"Damn," Lance said. "You've turned your Scizor into a war machine. This is gonna suck. Aerodactyl, use Aerial Ace!"

"Bullet Punch!" Aerodactyl flew at its opponent quickly while Scizor punched at it faster than the eye could see, which stopped Aerodactyl in its tracks. "Now dunk it!" Jana yelled happily. Scizor slammed his head into Aerodactyl, sending it crashing to the ground hard. When it didn't get up, Lance recalled it.

"Not half bad, however, your Scizor won't stand a chance when it faces Charizard." The dragon master threw his Pokéball and the flaming dragon-like Pokémon emerged with a fierce roar. Jana took note of the mega stone it was wearing around its neck. "Use the Flamethrower strategy!"

Jana bit her lip, trying to remember a move Scizor knew that could do any damage to Charizard. "Use Night Slash." Scizor flew at Charizard with pitch-black claws. It dropped sharply to dodge the pillar of flames and ran at Charizard on foot. Before it could swing at Charizard, the fire Pokémon flapped its wings hard, which somehow produced a thin wave of fire, which swept over Scizor, causing him to fall to his knees. "What the fuck?"

"We're prepared for when our opponents dodge Flamethrower like that," Lance explained. "Charizard knows to use Heat Wave when that happens. Quick, now that it's down, use Flare Blitz!" Charizard roared and flew at Scizor, surrounded by harsh flames. The contact caused an explosion, which rocked the room and sent Scizor flying into the wall. Scizor couldn't stand the attack and fell easily.

Jana recalled him, telling him how well he did before grabbing her next Pokéball. "Okay, let's do this, Aerodactyl." She threw the ball and Aerodactyl emerged, also wearing that peculiar stone around her neck.

Lance smirked. "You know it would be totally fair if you used that trick I taught you. I can do it as well."

"I plan to," Jana said. "Aerodactyl, let's mega evolve!" She touched the Key Stone holding her new piercing in place and it shone with a brilliant white light. Lance tapped the stone embedded into his cuff and it too started glowing. Aerodactyl and Charizard became enveloped in their own spheres of pink light and emerged much stronger than they were seconds ago. Charizard, now a black dragon, growled at Aerodactyl, who was a bright grey color and had black stones protruding from her body.

"I've already won this battle," Lance said. "Now Charizard gets more powerful dragon type moves, which will demolish you."

"We'll see about that," Jana shot back. "Aerodactyl, use Crunch!"

"Charizard, hit it with Dragon Rush." Charizard flew at Aerodactyl with the blue aura around it. Its attack won out, and Aerodactyl landed on the ground hard, struggling to stand back up. "If you don't have anything good against dragons, no amount of mega evolutions will help you."

Jana smirked at that. "Oh, I don't have anything against dragons? Well, if I remember right, that TM I was given for beating Clair says otherwise."

"Oh shit," Lance said, his spirits dropping.

"Dragon Pulse!" Aerodactyl opened her mouth wide and shot the orange blast at Charizard, who couldn't dodge it in time. "While it's down, hit it with Take Down." Aerodactyl flew at Charizard and slammed into it hard. The fiery dragon stumbled back, but managed to take the hit alright.

"Flare Blitz while it's close!" Lance called. Charizard hit Aerodactyl with the immensely powerful fire attack, sending its opponent tumbling through the air. When Aerodactyl recovered her bearings, Charizard rushed her with Flare Blitz again.

"Stop it with Dragon Pulse!" Aerodactyl fired off the attack and it managed to break through the attack, hitting Charizard hard. "Now Crunch." She latched onto Charizard's neck, causing it to cry out in pain.

"Dragon Claw!" Charizard swiped at Aerodactyl with a blue claw and knocked her off. "You won't win this one, Jana. I hate to break it to you, but Mega Charizard X can hit harder than Aerodactyl can even dream. Further more, Aerodactyl's special attack is so much worse than its attack, so since your only effective move is special, Charizard will be able to tank Dragon Pulse all day. Now, Charizard, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Aerodactyl, you use Dragon Pulse too," Jana said, ignoring Lance's taunts. The two Pokémon launched the attacks, but Charizard's superior special attack won out, and its Dragon Pulse overpowered Aerodactyl's. The explosion that resulted from this clash caused Aerodactyl to faint, changing back to her original form. "Well shit," Jana said, recalling her. Now down to one Pokémon, she grabbed Feraligatr's ball and stared at it. "You can do this. Feraligatr, let's go!" She threw it and her final Pokémon jumped into battle.

"Good luck hitting my fire dragon with a super effective move from your water type," Lance said, continuing to taunt his daughter.

Jana smiled knowingly and shrugged. "Well, if you insist. Feraligatr, use Dragon Pulse!"

Lance gasped. "What the fuck?"

Feraligatr opened her mouth wide and shot the orange attack at Charizard, who took the attack considerably worse than it did when Aerodactyl used it. "TM's are multiple use, you know," Jana said. "Did you really think I'd only teach one of my Pokémon the dragon move that beats you?"

"Dragon Rush!" Lance said. Charizard sped towards Feraligatr, preparing to use the attack.

"Feraligatr, jump!" Jana's Pokémon shot a blast of water at the ground, which propelled her over Charizard's attack. "Now jump in the pool." Upon landing, she made a mad dash for the pool as Charizard turned around and continued pursuing her. She barely managed to dodge by jumping in the water provided for Lance's Gyarados. Charizard stopped in its tracks and hovered above the water, not daring to go in.

"Charizard, we can't let her have the advantage. Fire a Smokescreen into the water." Lance's Pokémon did as it was told and filled the water with thick black smoke. It landed a couple feet from the water, looking in and trying to find a trace of its opponent.

"Oh no, now she can't see out of the water," Jana said, feigning distress. "What do we do now? Oh right, I have an idea. Feraligatr, use Surf!" The pool and the ground surrounding it rumbled and before Charizard could react, it was staring down a wall of black water that was barreling towards it. Feraligatr rode the wave and cheered as Charizard was doused in the entire contents of the pool.

The fire dragon could not withstand the force of the wave, and fell, reverting back to its original orange form.

"Five down, one to go," Jana said. "We can do this, Feraligatr."

"Let's see if you can handle my strongest Pokémon," Lance said as he tossed his ball. "Dragonite, let's go!"

"Don't let him Thunder Wave you, girl," Jana said to her Feraligatr. "We're screwed if he manages to land it." Feraligatr nodded, staring down her final opponent for this fight. "Let's hit it with Dragon Pulse!"

"Fire Blast!" Jana raised an eyebrow, confused at Lance's command. However, when Dragonite spit the kanji-shaped fire attack, it started to come together. It collided with Dragon Pulse and canceled it out with an explosion, after which it was given its next command. "Outrage!" Dragonite flew through the smoke with glowing red eyes and a very thick red aura surrounding it. It punched Feraligatr and she fell back under the immense strength of the attack.

"Oh man, that looked like it hurt. Feraligatr, use Dragon Pulse again." This time, the attack successfully hit, but Dragonite seemed completely unfazed by it. It threw another punch at Feraligatr, who was very much fazed. She stumbled back and just barely managed to dodge a third punch, after which Dragonite's glow faded and its eyes became a lighter shade of red. "Now's our chance, use Ice Fang!" Feraligatr lunged at Dragonite and bit down hard on it, doing massive damage with the ice move. Dragonite squealed in pain and knocked her away.

"Hit it with a point-blank hyper Beam!" Lance yelled.

"Dragon Pulse!"

The two Pokémon were so close that the two trainers only got a glimpse of the beams before they collided in a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, Feraligatr was on her knees and Dragonite stood above her.

"Outrage!" Lance yelled. Dragonite tried to move, but the recharge from Hyper Beam hadn't finished, so it was helpless.

"Ice Fang!" Feraligatr snapped at Dragonite, biting its arm savagely. Her opponent roared in pain and fell backwards, desperately trying to shake her off. "Now use Dragon Pulse!" Feraligatr opened her mouth suddenly, freeing Dragonite's arm. When it tried to move away from its attacker, though, it was struck by the orange blast. It fell to the ground and didn't move no matter how many times Lance called its name.

The battle was over.

"Woo!" Jana jumped into the air and celebrated. "We did it! I finally beat Lance!" She gave her Feraligatr a high five and congratulated her several times before putting her back in her Pokéball.

Lance sighed and recalled his unconscious Dragonite. "Well then. This is an odd feeling."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not angry that I lost, like I normally would be; but instead, I'm happy. I'm happy that I witnessed you rise to such a level of excellence. You worked perfectly beside your Pokémon and it was like witnessing a well-oiled machine do what it was made to do."

Jana flashed a cheesy grin. "Yeah, I'm kind of amazing that way."

Lance chuckled and approached her. They met halfway in the middle of the battlefield and he held out his hand. "I wish I could bestow the honor of the next Pokémon League Champion upon you, but you do have one more challenge left to face."

"Who do you think will win?" Jana asked, quietly refusing to shake his hand.

"I honestly have no idea, but I will be rooting for you." Lance finally got the message and lowered his hand. "Go forth and face your final challenge. The Champion is waiting for you."

"You've got it," Jana nodded. She walked past him and toward the door to the next room. Lance sighed when he thought she was gone. "Oh, one more thing," Jana said, causing Lance to turn around. When he did, something happened that he never would have expected. Jana was giving him a hug. "I'll see you when I'm the Champion, dad."

Lance wrapped his arms around her and smiled a wide, genuine smile. "Go for it, Jana."

She then let him go and turned to run out of the room. "Love you!" She called as the doors closed behind her.

Jana healed her Pokémon and proceeded down the final hallway. The huge door at the end opened with a loud creak and she walked into a pitch-black room. When the door closed behind her, the lights came on, illuminating a huge, blue octagonal room. Some of the lights were installed in the floor, creating a cool lighting effect that dramatically lit the person standing on the other side of the room. Gary Oak smirked at the challenger, who was currently admiring the room around her. "Jana, I was wondering how long it would take you to beat your father into the ground. Was he that much of a pushover?"

Jana shrugged. "You know, he wasn't that great."

"Figures," Gary said. "I always said the Johto gyms were pathetic. Back when I was working my way up the ranks, the Kanto gym leaders made you work for their badges."

"Hey, watch it," Jana said. "Some of the ones in Johto were difficult. Whitney gave me trouble, Jasmine nearly kis—er, kicked my ass, the old man was strong-ish, and Clair...would have been harder if I didn't mega evolve my Aerodactyl."

"No Mega Evolutions in this battle," Gary said. "Only you, your Pokémon and your raw, combined strength. Got it?"

"I promise I won't mega evolve," Jana said with a nod.

"Good. Now, if you insist Johto can indeed produce great trainers, how about you prove it against the strongest trainer in the world? _En garde!_" Gary grabbed a Pokéball from his belt, but hesistated when Jana did not do the same. "Are...you okay?"

Jana shook her head. "Oh, sorry. I got distracted. You said en garde, which was weird. I'm surprised I hadn't heard that yet."

Gary nodded slowly. "Uh, huh. So are we fighting or...?"

"Oh, right!" Jana grabbed a ball from her belt and they both threw them at the same time. Aerodactyl and Pidgeot emerged and stared each other down before taking to the air.

"Pidgeot, open up with Tailwind," Gary said calmly. Pidgeot flapped its wings hard until a strong, consistent wind was blowing from behind it, speeding it up.

"You seem awfully calm for someone facing down a rock-type with a flying-type," Jana remarked.

Gary shrugged. "I have plans to beat any type with any type. You'll see why I'm the strongest trainer in the world."

"Yeah, sure. Aerodactyl, use Ancient Power!" Aerodactyl roared, and five rocks rose from the ground before speeding towards Pidgeot. Gary's bird Pokémon managed to dodge a majority of the attack, save for a small nick from one rock.

"Now use Mirror Move," Gary said.

"What?"

Pidgeot cawed loudly and performed Ancient Power on an unsuspecting Aerodactyl, who took the full brunt of the attack. "Mirror Move is an excellent flying move that copies the move last used by an opponent. And that, my friend, is why I wasn't worried too much."

Jana nodded understanding before deciding to change her strategy up a bit. "Aerodactyl, use Iron Head."

"Aerial Ace." Aerodactyl flew at Pidgeot with a glowing head, but Pidgeot quickly flew around her and hit her with its own attack. "Now use Mirror Move again. Pidgeot then slammed into Aerodactyl with Iron Head, another super effective move. "See, Aerodactyl's problem is that it learns so many moves that it's weak to that it struggles to compete when someone has Mirror Move, Mimic, or Me First."

Jana didn't acknowledge his advice and instead asked Aerodactyl if she was alright. She nodded weakly and Jana re-thought her approach. "Alright, we need to keep pace with Pidgeot, so use Agility a few times. Then, uh, use Crunch."

Aerodactyl started flying around in wide circles, speeding up while Pidgeot followed its movements with its eyes easily. "Steel Wing," Gary said calmly. Pidgeot's wings started glowing and it chased after Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was fast, but the Tailwind boost was just too much to out run.

"Dragon Pulse, now!" Jana called, changing her plans up. Just before Pidgeot caught up with Aerodactyl, she spun around and fired the Dragon-type attack. Pidgeot was caught by surprise, so it took the attack head-on. Aerodactyl made some distance between them before it could recover from the attack. "Good job, Aerodactyl. Keep it up."

Gary smirked. "Bad idea, running away. Pidgeot, use Roost!" Pidgeot landed and folded its wings in, starting to heal the damage it had just taken.

Jana gasped. "We can't let that happen. Aerodactyl, hit it hard with Crunch, right now!" Aerodactyl sped towards, Pidgeot, who was currently defenseless. She bit down on it hard, causing Pidgeot to screech in pain and recoil. "Now use Dragon Pulse." Aerodactyl opened her mouth and fired at Pidgeot, who was too close to completely dodge.

"This battle is going to be just you whittling away at Pidgeot if you can't find any moves that are good against it but not your Aerodactyl," Gary said. "It's such a shame, isn't it?"

"Hey wait a minute," Jana said. "Pidgeot doesn't have fangs, so it can't copy Thunder Fang! Aerodactyl, you know what to do." Jana's Pokémon nodded and flew at Pidgeot with electrified teeth. She managed to catch up rather easily and chomped down on Pidgeot again. When it finally broke free, Gary's bird was shivering from the shock.

"Joke's on you, because physical limitations don't matter. Mirror Move!" Pidgeot turned and rushed at Aerodactyl with a yellow beak that crackled with electricity. However, its movements were much slower than it had been moments before.

"Oh hell yeah, it's paralyzed!" Jana celebrated. "Aerodactyl, circle around and hit it with Iron Head!" Aerodactyl performed the same maneuver Pidgeot had earlier and slammed into the bird with great force. Pidgeot hit the ground hard and struggled to get back up. "Finish it off with Ancient Power."

"Air Slash." Aerodactyl sent the rocks flying at Pidgeot, who swung its wings at her, causing a pulse of air to speed toward her. Pidgeot's attack hit one or two of the rocks, causing them to shatter and stop there, but the remaining rocks managed to hit their target, and Pidgeot finally fell unconscious. Gary nodded as he recalled his first Pokémon. "Not half bad. However, I'm not going to let starting off on the wrong foot stop me. Gyarados, let's go." He threw a ball into the pool provided for Gyarados, and the serpentine Pokémon emerged with a mighty roar.

"Is that like, a requirement to be in the Elite Four or something?" Jana asked. "Because I've fought so many of those, you have no idea."

Gary laughed. "If I had known it was so overused, I wouldn't have trained it. Still, this one's stronger than the rest, so don't get cocky just because you've beat the other ones. Gyarados, use Dragon Dance." The Pokémon started swaying back and forth in the water and was surrounded by small, blue fireballs. Jana found the sight of it hilarious, but she could tell it was getting faster the more it did it.

"We can speed up too, you know. Keep using Agility, Aerodactyl."

While Aerodactyl sped herself up, Gary laughed. "You do know Dragon Dance does more than that, right? Dragon Dance makes its attack better too."

"What?"

"It's a two-pronged advantage! Gyarados, use Hydro Pump!" Gyarados launched a blast of water at Aerodactyl, who dodged it without much effort.

"Thunder Fang," Jana said. Aerodactyl dive-bombed Gyarados with its crackling teeth.

"Smack it away with Aqua Tail." Just when Aerodactyl got in range, Gyarados swatted her with its tail. Aerodactyl slammed into the wall and struggled to regain her composure. "Use Rain Dance." Gyarados started swaying back and forth once more and this time, a cloud formed above the battlefield and started dumping water on the field. "Same moves as last time, Gyarados."

"Aerodactyl, use Crunch this time," Jana said without thinking her strategy through. Aerodactyl nimbly dodged Hydro Pump and charged Gyarados, who knocked her out of the sky once more with a powered up Aqua Tail. This time, Aerodactyl would not recover. "You did great, Aerodactyl," Jana said as she returned her to her ball. "Casey, it's your turn." Casey the Alakazam emerged, ready to battle.

"You do understand that Alakazam's physical defense is terrible, yeah?" Gary asked. Jana nodded and he continued. "Then why did you send one out against something that's been buffing it's physical attack so much?"

"Because of Disable," Jana said sweetly. "Casey, use it now!" Casey fired a blue beam at Gyarados. The attack wrapped itself around its tail, preventing it from using Aqua Tail any further. "Now use Calm Mind." Casey crossed her legs and floated in the air, boosting her special stats.

"Not bad," Gary said. "You caught me off guard there. No matter. Gyarados, use Hydro Pump."

"Teleport!" Casey vanished in the blink of an eye, causing the pumped up water move to hit an empty spot of ground. She reappeared high above Gyarados, still meditating and boosting her stats. This sequence repeated itself two more times before Jana decided it was time to attack. "Use Psyshock!" Casey then performed a move similar to Mewtwo's Psystrike, but it was a weaker version and the psychic projectiles resembled rocks as opposed to shards of glass. The attack pelted Gyarados, who did not have much room to dodge due to being confined in water. "Now use Future Sight."

"Quick, Hyper Beam!" Gyarados fired straight up at Casey, but she teleported away, causing the attack to hit the ceiling with an explosion.

"Psybeam!" Casey reappeared right behind Gyarados and fired a double-helix beam of energy at it. The weaker move did less damage, but caused Gyarados to flinch regardless.

"Quick, use Crunch while it's close!"

"Shit!" Jana yelled. "Get out of there!" Casey could not teleport away in time for the extra speedy Gyarados to latch on to her arm and throw her across the battlefield. She cried out in pain and slammed into the ground hard. "Are you okay, Casey?" Casey stood up shakily and gave her a weak thumb up. "Alright, use Recover," Jana said.

"Twister, quick!" While Casey started healing herself from a distance, Gyarados swung its tail and formed a small tornado, which flew at her quickly.

"Light Screen, now!" Casey stopped healing herself and held her spoons aloft, forming a thick barrier in between her and the dragon attack. The twister hit the wall and shrunk significantly. "Now Recover again." Casey healed herself further and shrugged off the twister when it finally hit. "Now use Psyshock again." The tiny psychic rocks formed around all around Gyarados before converging quickly, hammering it with many successive hits.

"Gyarados, use Hyper Beam," Gary said, struggling to keep his patience in this long-range battle. Gyarados opened its mouth wide and charged its attack until the Pokémon itself was shaking.

"What are you doing just sitting there?" Jana demanded. "Dodge it with Teleport." Casey held up her hand to assure Jana that it was alright, and just as it did, the attack exploded before it could even leave Gyarados' mouth. "What the fuck?" Jana asked as Gyarados fell unconscious into the water.

"Was that what Alakazam did with Future Sight?" Gary asked. When Casey nodded, he smiled and returned Gyarados. "I see. Your Alakazam is really powerful. I'll just have to show you how much stronger mine is. Alakazam, I choose you." Gary's Alakazam was identical to Casey except for the longer mustache characterizing it as male. He stared down Casey and the dual-Alakazam battle began. "Open up with Torment," Gary instructed.

"Psyshock," Jana called. Casey raised her spoons to use the move, but stopped in her tracks. "Wait, what?"

"Torment makes it so your Pokémon can't use moves twice in a row," Gary explained. "Now do what she did earlier. Teleport around her attacks and use Calm Mind while you do so." Alakazam nodded and started boosting his own stats.

"Psycho Cut," Jana said. Casey ran at Alakazam and swung her glowing spoon at him, but he vanished the instant before the attack landed. She looked around confused before seeing him floating above her. "Um, use Psychic." Casey attempted this, but Alakazam disappeared before she could even attempt the attack. This exchange continued and Jana couldn't land an attack, partially due to Casey being unable to use an attack twice in a row and having to think about what to use next.

Finally, Gary dropped the charade and started attacking. "Alakazam, use Shadow Ball!" Alakazam formed a thick, black ball in between his fists and fired it at Casey, who took the full power of the attack. She staggered back in pain. Her special defense had been boosted, but the stronger Alakazam still caused her significant pain.

"Use Recover," Jana said.

"Not so fast. Use taunt!" Casey crossed her legs and started floating, but before she could perform her attack, Alakazam made an obscene hand gesture, causing her to immediately stop and stomp her feet on the ground.

"What? No, use Recover."

"She can't," Gary said. "Taunt forces your Pokémon to only use moves that deal direct damage."

"Damn it," Jana said, gritting her teeth.

The next five minutes consisted of Alakazam whittling away at Casey while she tried in vain to hit him with her slower attacks. Finally, Casey fell under the constant barrage of Shadow Ball while Alakazam had only been hit once by a luckily placed Psychic. "It's okay, Casey. You did your best." Jana grabbed her next Pokéball from her belt and sighed.

"This is exciting, isn't it?" Gary said happily. "I haven't had a battle this intense in a while, and we've only just started."

Jana nodded. "You're definitely making me work for this. Scizor, I choose you." Scizor jumped into battle and Alakazam's eyes widened. "Scizor, we gotta skip the buffing part and just hit it. Use Bullet Punch and, when you're close, use X-Scissor."

"Alakazam, use Future Sight," Gary commanded. Alakazam held his spoons high and closed his eyes, launching the attack into the future right before Scizor's lightning fast punches landed. He walloped Alakazam several times with the steel move before hitting him with both of his claws in an X formation. "Teleport away," Gary said. Alakazam regained his composure and zapped behind Scizor, ready to launch an attack on command.

"Bullet Punch, then Nigh Slash!" Jana called. Scizor ran at Alakazam and hit him several times faster than the eye could follow. His claws started glowing black and he reared one back before slamming it into Alakzam with all the force he could muster. Alakzam fell to the ground unconscious and Jana jumped in the air to celebrate. "Way to go, Scizor! Now use Agility while he switches out." This ended up being a bad idea, because Gary switched Alakzam out for his Arcanine. The large, fiery Pokémon roared so loud, it rattled Jana's bones. "Holy shit." She quickly grabbed two balls from her belt and held one at arm's length. "Scizor, come back." Before Gary could react, the red bug disappeared into his home. "Now let's do this, Feraligatr!"

Gary shook his head. "Man, and here I thought we would get through this whole battle without switching out like that."

Jana shrugged as Feraligatr emerged from her ball. "Scizor couldn't beat Arcanine in a million years, what can I say?"

Gary returned the gesture. "Good point, and I would say the same, but like I said, I can beat any type. Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!"

"Not bad. We can handle that, can't we?"

"Then when you're close, use Thunder Fang."

"What?" Arcanine traversed the entire battlefield faster than Jana had imagined possible and slammed into Feraligatr. While the attack itself didn't phase her much, the electric bite that followed sure did. Feraligatr roared in pain and shook the dog Pokémon off of her. "Waterfall!" Jana said. Feraligatr slammed into Arcanine with her cloak of water and sent the beast tumbling away. "Jump in the pool," was the next command to come from Jana, and Feraligatr made a mad dash for the pool provided for the champ's Gyarados.

"Stop it with Extreme Speed," Gary said. Arcanine did as it was told and slammed into Feraligatr, but this move only pushed her into the pool. Gary pinched the bridge of his nose. "Way to go, genius."

Jana threw her hands in the air like an excited child. "Now use Surf!" The process from the last battle repeated itself, and the entire contents of the pool rose up in a humongous tidal wave with Ferliagtr at the top. She rode the wave right over her opponent and not even the high-leveled Arcanine could withstand getting drenched in all that water. "So what was that about being able to beat anything?" Jana asked.

Gary nodded as he recalled Arcanine. "Respectable, but don't get too cocky. Venusaur is up next." He sent out the plant Pokémon and it roared at Feraligatr, who only seemed slightly intimidated.

"It's okay, girl, we can take 'em," Jana said to Feraligatr. Her starter nodded in response and it was time to take on Venusaur. "Use Ice Fang!"

"Open up with Sunny Day," Gary said, okay with the fact that Venusaur was about to take a hit. Venusaur shot a small, intense ball of light from the flower on its back just as Ferligatr chomped down on it with icy cold teeth. She jumped away from her target before it could retaliate, but no amount of distance could have prepared her for Gary's counterattack. "Venusaur, use Solar Beam." The move that would have taken longer to prepare under any other circumstances fired almost immediately, giving Feraligatr no time to dodge it. She took the full force of the blow and fell to the ground.

"Feraligatr, are you okay?" Jana said. The water Pokémon struggled to her feet and gave a shaky thumb up, so Jana nodded.

"Petal Blizzard," Gary said. A flurry of pink petals erupted from Venusaur's flower and made a beeline for Feraligatr.

"Dragon Pulse!" Jana said. Feraligatr opened her mouth wide and launched the attack that Jana had taught her and Aerodactyl at the same time. She launched the attack and it exploded against the petals, causing them to stop in their tracks. "Now Ice Fang!" Feraligatr charged Venusaur and bit down on it again. She hung on for a few seconds before jumping back suddenly. For some reason, right after this happened, Venusaur stumbled back, as if taken another hit. "What the...? Did we do that?"

Gary raised an eyebrow, also confused at what had happened. After a second, he gasped and covered his mouth with one hand. "Oh my god, did Feraligatr just dodge Future Sight and cause it to hit Venusaur?" Gary groaned in frustration. "That's a psychic move! Damn it, how did Alakazam manage to fuck up that bad?"

Jana gave him a shit-eating grin and giggled. "It's alright by me. Hit it with another Ice Fang!" Jana's Pokémon nodded and charged once more.

Gary growled. "Sludge Bomb!" The top of Venusaur's flower erupted in a purple blob of goo, which hit Feraligatr and sent her tumbling forward. She managed to regain her footing and used her momentum to jump high in the air. She fell toward Venusaur with her maw wide and slammed into it. "Vine Whip!" Gary said. The sides of Venusaur's bulb sprouted green vines, which wrapped around Feraligatr and threw her off of it. The two opponents stared each other down, both shaky and close to fainting. "Venusaur, use Petal Dance and create a barrier around yourself. That Feraligatr's not getting close to you without taking an ass-load of damage." His Pokémon stomped the ground hard and a vortex of pink petals started circling it.

Jana put her finger to her chin, contemplating what to do next. "Well, Ice Fang is out of the question." She looked up at the ball of light, still illuminating the field. "And while that thing's in play, no water moves are gonna fly. Let's hit it with Dragon Pulse."

"Petal Blizzard!" The two attacks flew at each other, but this time, Venusaur willed the petals to circle the blast. Dragon Pulse hit Venusaur hard, but not as hard as the petals hit Feraligatr. She fell backwards and Venusaur's legs gave out from under it. Both Pokémon had fainted at the same time.

"Holy shit," Jana said. "That's insane."

Gary grabbed a fistful of his own hair. "How did Venusaur get beat by a water-type?" He demanded. He shook his head vehemently. "Whatever. Now whichever Pokémon we use next are completely random, so I can deal with that."

Jana nodded agreement. "Plus you have to agree that was pretty cool."

Gary shrugged. "Wouldn't have happened if Alakzam didn't fuck up." He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt as she did and sent out his last Pokémon as she called upon her second-to-last.

Nidoqueen emerged from Jana's ball while the huge, fierce Rhyperior came from Gary's. His last Pokémon may have been outmatched, but he had no doubt in his mind that Rhyperior could sweep its remaining opponents.

"Nidoqueen, let's use Superpower!" Jana called. Nidoqueen became outlined in a blue aura and ran at Rhyperior.

"Stop her in her tracks with Bulldoze," Gary said. Rhyperior stomped on the ground several times and the shockwaves tripped Nidoqueen, causing her to crash into the ground and lose the power Superpower gave her. "Drill Run!" The drill on Rhyperior's face lit up and it started slowly making its way towards Nidoqueen. Nidoqueen attempted to dodge, but the damage from Bulldoze slowed her down too much, and she was slammed into hard. The power of two Ground-type moves in a row from the physical tank before her was too much and she fell under Rhyperior's immense strength.

Jana bit her lip as she put Nidoqueen back in her ball. "Oh dear..."

"One-on-one time," Gary said. "Don't think Rhyperior will go down so easy, either. He's my heaviest hitter, physically. He may not have any fire moves to combat Scizor, but we'll whittle him down regardless."

Jana grabbed Scizor's Pokéball and squeezed it tight. "Okay Scizor, you're my last hope. It all comes down to this. Let's go!" She tossed the ball and Scizor jumped out, ready for battle. "We can run circles around this tub of rock-lard, so use Agility and Iron Defense." Rhyperior bellowed loudly as Scizor started speeding himself up.

"He didn't appreciate that," Gary said. "Rock Wrecker!" Rhyperior formed a huge boulder in between his hands and launched it at Scizor, who dodged without a second thought.

"Bullet Punch!" Jana said once she figure Scizor's defenses were high enough.

"Give him a nice big hug, Rhyperior," Gary said. Scizor sped towards Rhyperior and punched him several times quickly. Rhyperior was unphased by the attack despite its super effective-ness and closed his arms around Scizor while he was close. "Drill Run." The horn on his head lit up blue and he headbutt Scizor, making point-blank contact with the move. His higher defense was helpful, but it didn't stop Scizor from crumpling to the ground in pain.

"Get out of there, Scizor!" Jana called. "Swords Dance!" He did as he was told and jumped away before Rhyperior could grab him in another hug of death. He performed a strange dance, jumping around Rhyperior, who was attempting to hit him all the while. Finally, Scizor was given the order to use Iron Head. He sped towards Rhyperior with a glowing forehead and slammed into him. This caused Rhyperior to actually stagger backwards, but it wasn't enough to down the beast.

"Hammer Arm!" Gary said. Rhyperior brought his huge fist down on Scizor's small body. Scizor fell to the ground, but managed to get back up.

"Metal Claw!" Jana commanded, no longer caring about Scizor making space between them.

"It sure is a shame Scizor's not a special attacker, huh?" Gary asked as Scizor swiped at Rhyperior with a glowing silver claw. "Earthquake!" Rhyperior stomped the ground savagely and the resulting attack felt like the entire building was coming down on top of them. Jana fell on her butt and groaned, starting to develop a headache. Scizor fell backwards as well and scrambled to get back up.

"Scizor, Iron Head again." Scizor jumped and slammed into Rhyperior's chin with his head, causing the behemoth finally show pain. Jana didn't catch what move Gary told him to use, but Iron Head had caused the Pokémon to flinch, so it couldn't do whatever it was told to. "One more time!" Scizor jumped high into the air and dive bombed Rhyperior with his head. Rhyperior stumbled back again and roared in frustration.

"Rock Wrecker!" Gary yelled. When Scizor landed a few feet in front of Rhyperior, he was assaulted by a huge boulder, which slammed into him and shattered.

"He needs to recharge now, I think," Jana said, not having moved from her spot on the ground. "Scizor, hit it with Bullet Punch, and then Iron Head for your life." A shaky Scizor nodded and flew at his opponent, punching him several times before slamming his head into him. Rhyperior fell on his gigantic ass, causing the ground to rumble. As he tried to get up, Scizor hit him with one more Bullet Punch per his trainer's orders.

Rhyperior fell back, barely able to stand up. "Rhyperior, use Smack Down!" Gary yelled.

"Metal Claw!" Jana said with a voice barely under a scream. Rhyperior dug into the ground and produced a large stone. It swung it at Scizor just as the bug's metal claw made contact with his face. The rock exploded into a cloud of dust and Scizor went flying to the side. He hit the ground hard and when the smoke cleared, it revealed that Rhyperior was lying on the ground as well.

"Did...did we just fucking tie?" Gary asked.

Before Jana could respond, both Pokémon started slowly making moves to pull themselves off the ground. Scizor managed to stand up first, being the lighter contender. Rhyperior also pulled himself off the ground after a tense minute. The two stared each other down, trembling and struggling to keep their balance. Finally, after what felt like forever, Rhyperior closed his eyes and fell forward, crashing to the ground. The tremors caused by the fall were felt on the bottom floor of the building. Seeing his opponent was fallen, Scizor fell to his knees in relief. Meanwhile, Jana jumped to her feet. "Hell yeah!" She cheered. "We just beat the fucking Champion!" She ran to Scizor and hugged him tight. Scizor smiled weakly as he wrapped one of his thin arms around his trainer. "You did so amazing, Scizor. You get yourself a good rest, okay?" Scizor nodded as he disappeared inside his Pokéball. Gary approached Jana and held out his hand.

"You did it," he said. "I didn't make any mistakes in raising my Pokémon, but you managed to out-muscle them. Good job. Shake on it?" Jana looked at his hand for a moment. She grabbed it and started to shake it, but ultimately pulled the Champion in for a hug. "Oh, well this is happening now."

Jana laughed. "It is. Friends hug each other sometimes, right?"

"Good point, I guess," Gary said. When they separated, he smiled at Jana whole-heartedly. "I lost fair and square, and for that, I am proud to bestow upon you the title of Pokémon League Champion."

Jana couldn't contain her excitement and she ended up making a noise close to squealing. "Yes, I did it!"

"Let's go make it official, shall we?" When Jana nodded, Gary lead her through the door that he stood in front of earlier. Through the door was the Hall of Fame. It was a large, spacious, golden hallway with a giant computer screen on the back wall. Currently, the screen was lit up with a picture of Gary and it was cycling through names and pictures of his Pokémon. "Welcome to the Hall of Fame. This is where Champions and their Pokémon are recorded to be forever recognized as the fantastic trainers they are." Gary motioned toward a table that resembled the table that nurses would put Pokéballs on in Pokémon Centers. "Now put your Pokéballs here and your team will be recorded for posterity." Jana excitedly grabbed her Pokéballs from her belt and put them on the table. It started glowing and the computer screen showed a loading screen before playing loud, congratulatory music and showing pictures of all the Pokémon on the table. Jana's eyes began to well up as she watched the pictures of her Pokémon flash by, which caused all the memories associated with each one to come flooding to the surface. Gary put a hand on her shoulder as the slide show wound down and said, "congratulations."

And that was just the beginning of the festivities.

DEAR JOURNAL,

"I did it!"

* * *

**Next chapter is the last one! Look forward to it hopefully next week. I don't make any promises though.**


	11. The End

Jana's first instinct was to describe the next few days as a blur, but every single detail of everything that happened was ingrained in her mind forever. No, blur wasn't the correct word, but busy beyond belief definitely hit the nail on the head. The day after she defeated Gary, she had made her way to the top news story again, except this time she was perfectly conscious for it. The news declared that a New Bark native had risen from obscurity and, in a very short period, went from completely unknown to the girl who saved Johto shortly before becoming its champion. A week after the final battle, a television event made it official. It wasn't a very long event, but it consisted of a cheesy mock-battle between the old champ and the new one, showcasing the latter's team. The battle fake-raged in the center of her hometown and ended when Gary's Venusaur "fainted" and Gary officially passed the title of Champion down to Jana. She wasn't expected to give a speech or anything, but she did flash the camera the biggest, most smug grin she could muster. The special ended with victorious fanfare and the camera crews dispersed, leaving New Bark town the same as it was when they came, save for the confetti littered everywhere. The producers of the special desperately wanted to hold it in the center of Goldenrod City, but Jana vehemently refused, as the idea of such a large crowd scared her to death, though she wouldn't dare say that out loud.

Either way, the next order of business was for Jana to get congratulated by literally everyone in New Bark Town. Since it was a small place, it didn't take too long, but it was still more people than she had wanted to interact with, especially after dealing with the obnoxious showrunners from the TV special. One particularly notable neighbor and childhood friend of Jana's flashed her a grin while his Marill danced around their feet. Ethan wore a gold hat with a black spike down the middle atop his black hair, and his goofy grin had seen Jana through much of their shared earlier years. "So, Pokémon League Champion, huh? How's it feel?"

"Like, unreal," Jana said. "I still have trouble believing I did it."

Ethan nodded. "You look like you've been through a lot."

Jana pouted and crossed her arms. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ethan held up his hands and backed up a step. "Oh, nothing bad, promise! I'm just saying, you look more mature than you did when I saw you last."

While she was slightly offended to start with, Ethan had a completely valid point about Jana's appearance. Her skin was more tanned after having spent so much time in the sun and her eyes were sunken in on top of looking old beyond their years. Her muscles were more refined and she carried herself with true confidence, as opposed to the fake confidence she over-hyped herself to have so long ago. To put it crudely, she looked like she'd seen some shit, but she looked better off for it. She gave off a vibe of being experienced beyond her years, despite being only seventeen, and she wore a look that would make unfamiliar people tread with caution around her.

Jana was beautiful but terrifying, much like a mountain covered with loose snow after a blizzard. "Well, thanks, I think," she finally said to her old friend.

"So when will you be free next?" Ethan asked, a hint of a blush creeping across his face.

Jana shrugged. "I really don't know. It could be weeks. I probably have to do some sort of paperwork now that I'm Champion, I could be challenged at any time, and then there's a...get-together I have to go to, so I dunno." She felt like calling her meet-up with Jasmine a date would be a mistake in front of Ethan, for some reason.

"Okay, well, call me when you're free, alright?"

"Sure," Jana said, completely oblivious to the fact that Ethan was kind of asking her out. "Don't get mad if I forget or something."

"Uh, right," Ethan said. "I'll go now."

"Hey, before you do?" The boy turned around to see Jana offering a hand for a high-five. He grinned and slapped her hand as hard as he could, to which Jana responded by laughing. "Man, you're still a wimp. Here let me do it." He nervously held his hand up and Jana smacked it so hard, he recoiled with a yelp of pain. Jana laughed once more. "You're trying, that's what counts." After that and a couple more neighbors congratulating her, she turned to Gary, who had been checking out the town while she was being accosted. "So what are you going to do now, Gary? I mean, are you gonna be the fourth member of the Elite Four or what?"

The former Champ shrugged. "That would be the logical step, wouldn't it? To be honest, I'm kind of tired of being cooped up in that mansion all day every day. I might train a new, weaker team and become a gym leader, come to think of it."

"A gym leader? But why such a downgrade?"

"Viridian City has been leaderless for years, man," Gary explained. "I think it's about time I relieve that situation so Kanto trainers don't have to travel all the way over here for their last badge."

"So instead of being cooped up in a mansion, you're gonna hide yourself away in a small gym?"

Gary laughed. "You got me there, I admit, but Viridian City is a short walk from home, so if I get homesick, I can just take a stroll to the south and be home again." At the mention of his hometown, Gary's eyes seemed to get distracted by something in the distance and he spoke with a dreamy voice. Finally, he snapped out of his trance-like state and shook his head. "But yeah, I like that idea."

"You have fun with that," Jana said. "Maybe I'll see you around some time."

"I sure hope you will," Gary said. "You are going to travel Kanto too, aren't you?"

"Wait, what?"

Gary shook his head. "You won't be trapped in that mansion, you know. Besides, what kind of Champion has only explored half of the area she's the champ of? You gotta take the Kanto gym challenge too. All those guys have teams that are trained up for people from Johto, so they'd give you a nice challenge."

"You know, that's a good idea," Jana said. "I'll have to do that."

"That way, we can battle again," Gary said. "And I know you want to do that."

Jana flashed a grin at the former champion. "Hell yeah I do! Yeah, I'll get right on that. There's something else I'll have to do before that, though."

* * *

The first thing Jana did when she had a second of spare time was call up one of the best friends she had made on her journey and set up a very special appointment. However, that ended up having to be days after the call, so Jana had a lot of business to attend to before then.

Her first order of business was to visit someone and settle some bad blood between her and them. She stepped into the Blackthron gym and quickly found Clair, who was far from happy to see her. "Oh, so the Champion has decided to pay me a visit, I'm so humbled," the much older woman cooed sarcastically. "What do you want?"

Jana shrugged. "I had free time, and this was the first place I thought to visit." When asked why, she had to take a moment to think her response through. "Well, I guess I felt guilty? Yeah, I'll say that. I felt bad that I won by using Mega Evolution when you couldn't, so I'm gonna fix that."

"How?"

"By challenging you to a rematch of course. A fair, no Mega Evolutions allowed rematch. If I lose, I'll give you your badge back."

Clair chuckled. "Don't bother with that. It won't change your champ status, so that won't be necessary. However, I will absolutely take up your challenge."

The battle was much harder than last time it was fought, and Jana found herself struggling at one point; however, when she remembered that Aerodactyl had Dragon Pulse, things got significantly easier. At least, until the battle got interrupted.

At one point in the battle, a poorly aimed Hydro Pump flew directly at Jana, who had to jump out of the way to avoid it. That exact second was when someone decided to open the door to the gym, which was directly in Hydro Pump's path. Lance poked his head in and said, "Hey Clair. Grandpa said you were in here so—whoa!" The blast hit Lance square in the face and carried him yards from the gym. Jana took a moment to absorb what just happened, but when she did, she burst into uncontrollable laughter right alongside her father's loving cousin. Lance stormed back into the gym moments later to find both of his relatives clutching their stomachs on the floor of the gym. "I'm glad I could provide some entertainment to you, my lovely family," he said, making sure to lather his words in dripping sarcasm.

"We're glad too," Clair managed. Five minutes later, Jana and Clair had finally managed to pull themselves together enough to hold a proper conversation with their visitor. "What brings you here?" Clair asked.

Her waterlogged cousin shrugged in response. "I just felt like visiting some old family. I didn't think the new family would be here." As he said that, be put a hand on Jana's head and ruffled her hair, which caused her to shoot him a displeased look. "So why were you two battling?"

"I rematched her," Jana explained. "I used Mega Evolution last time, so I wanted to have a fair and square match."

"Ah, yes," Lance said with a nod. "I see. Well, don't let me stop you. By all means, continue."

Clair and Jana looked at each other and shrugged. "Nah," the older one said. "I think I've seen enough."

"Really?" Jana asked.

"Sure. I mean, you're the Champion, there's not exactly a whole lot more to prove to me."

The next couple of hours flew by, spent catching up with family Jana didn't even know she had until recently. It was a nice way to slow down after the hectic last few days. Finally, Jana decided it was time to get going. Clair and Lance stood in front of the gym's doors, waving good-bye as Jana started to climb on her Aerodactyl. Right as Aerodactyl jumped off the ground, she remembered something very important.

"Stop!" She patted Aerodactyl frantically, who slowed down considerably. She jumped from her back, which was a good five foot drop, and landed with a stumble. "Ouch..."

"What the fuck are you doing?" Clair asked.

Jana ran to her father and embraced him. "I thought about that thing you wanted, dad."

"What thing?"

"You can do it," Jana said, foregoing an explanation.

"Wait, really?" Lance was starting to catch on to what was happening. When his daughter nodded, he smiled and took her in a hug of his own. "Thanks. I'm glad you approve now."

Jana backed up with her hands raised. "Whoa, I wouldn't go that far. This is strictly a decision made with my mom's best interests at heart." Jana winked at her father before jumping on Aerodactyl's back once more and soaring off, leaving Lance to explain what had just happened to a very confused Clair.

* * *

A couple of days later, the initial hustle and bustle of being the new Champion had started to wane, leaving Jana with some much anticipated and well-deserved free time. This free time was spent in Olivine City of course, honoring that appointment that had been set up days before. She entered the gym and immediately ran across one of the gym trainers who welcomed her before the big gym battle. The older gentleman nodded his head at the gym's visitor. "Hello, new Champ. What brings you to us today?"

"I'm here to see Jasmine," Jana answered. "Is she in, or do I have to go to the damn lighthouse again?"

The man chuckled. "No, no. She's here. She's in her room. Let me go get her."

"Wait, she lives here? Do all gym leaders live inside their gyms?"

The gym trainer nodded. "They have to be ready at all times for new challengers, after all. Anyway, you wait here. Jasmine doesn't like it when we take people into the back rooms." Jana nodded and the man walked off, leaving her alone in the huge stadium. She took this alone time to call back to the fierce battle that was waged in this room. Jasmine's gigantic juggernaut of a Steelix thrashing her Pokémon and tearing up the ground was fresh in Jana's mind, and just thinking about how hard she fought started bringing the excitement back. Unfortunately, there was something for Jana to be excited about at the moment that was not a battle. After a moment, the older man emerged from the back rooms and nodded at Jana. "Jasmine said you're allowed in her room. Come with me."

Jana nodded and followed the man through a small hallway that felt like what Jana imagined the backstage to a play would feel. There were buttons and levers (no doubt there to provide water for challengers who used water-bound Pokémon) littering the walls and they passed several doors sporting uninteresting labels. Finally, they came to a door with the name Jasmine on it. The man nodded at her and silently walked away, inviting her to knock on the door herself. She did and immediately heard rustling behind the door, as if Jasmine was scrambling to make the place presentable for her company. Finally, her voice sounded from the other side with a cheery "come in!" Jana turned the knob to open the door, but it stuck fast, locked. She raised an eyebrow at the uncooperative door and started to say something, but Jasmine's laughter on the other side stopped her. "Sorry! I guess I forgot to unlock it. You wait there, I'll be ready in two seconds!" Jana smiled and crossed her arms, preparing to jokingly chew Jasmine out, but when the latch sounded and the door slowly opened, she immediately forgot everything she was about to say.

Jasmine was wearing the most gorgeous silver dress that Jana had ever seen on anybody before. If it were any other situation, Jana would have spent a lot longer taking in the beautiful sight, but the fact that Jasmine was decked to the nines brought something different to mind. "I...uh, may have under-dressed for the, uh, occasion." She looked down at her usual outfit, of which she wore a variation nearly every day since leaving home so long ago.

Jasmine nodded. "I guess. That's okay though. I would offer you one of my other dresses, but we have reservations and we've gotta get moving." She grabbed Jana's hand and lead her out of the gym.

"Reservations?" Jana repeated.

"Of course! It would be kind of hard to get into the best place in Olivine without reservations."

"So it's a fancy place then?" She sighed as they left the nearly empty gym. "I really did under-dress."

It wasn't touted as the best restaurant in Olivine City for no reason, because after being immediately seated, Jana and Jasmine were given almost a meal's worth of appetizers and gigantic cups filled to the brim with their chosen drinks. The conversation between the girls was mostly a recap of Jana's epic battles against her father and Gary. Jasmine especially got a kick out of the part where Venusaur became a victim of friendly fire. "I think my Feraligatr was moving so fast that Alakazam didn't aim quite right. Or something. I'm not sure, but it is totally the reason I won."

"That's so great," Jasmine said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Man, Gary would not be happy if he knew you told me that part."

"Don't I know it." The conversation was left there, because a movement Jasmine made caused something behind her to catch Jana's eye. She held up her hand. "Hey, can you lean to the left a bit?"

"Uh, sure?" Confused, Jasmine did as Jana asked, and Jana's face flushed bright red at what she saw. She rested her elbow on the table so she could bury her face in her hands. "Jana, what's wrong?"

"Whatever you do, don't look behind you. My fucking parents are here." Sitting not too far away at their own small table were indeed Jana's parents, looking almost as spiffy as Jasmine did. Jasmine's face flushed too, but her trouble was in trying to keep her laughter inside. Jana scrambled to get another look at the couple not too far away from them. "If that asshole's planning a public proposal, I swear to Christ." She grabbed her PokéGear and hastily typed out a text message that quickly reminded her father to propose respectfully. She sent the message and let go of her phone, letting it go back to its neutral position around her neck.

A couple tables over, Lance's sentence was rudely interrupted when he felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his PokéGear and read the message, not quite understanding it. After having to field a question, he assured his date that nothing was wrong as he stuffed the device back into his pocket.

Jana shook her head. "I can't believe we came here on the same day my dad brought my mom here. What a bad idea, oh my god."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Jasmine said. "We'll wrap it up quick and get out of here, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Jana was calming down now. "I'll cover the tip." Now she was desperate to change the subject to anything else.

"No, don't worry about it," Jasmine assured her. "I said I'd treat you, so I'm covering everything."

Not one to complain about free food, Jana promptly forgot the potentially embarrassing situation and the two continued having very pleasant conversations. About fifteen minutes after the incident, Jana felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see, to her horror, her parents standing over her. "Having fun on your date, sweetie?"

"Mom!" Jana's face was redder than a Pokéball at this point.

Lance laughed and put his arm around his date. "Come on, you'll embarrass her. Let's get going."

The two adults left their daughter alone, but not after some poignant advice from mother to daughter. "Always remember to be safe," She had said with a wink and suggestive tone. In response, Jana wordlessly slammed her head on the table, desperately trying to hide her face in shame.

After their dinner had been finished and the embarrassment forgotten, Jasmine and Jana sat at their table idly talking for a while, until finally the subject of where to go next was breached. Jasmine said she wanted to go take a walk on the beach and Jana agreed to it, so the two finally left that damn restaurant. The sun was starting to set over the horizon, painting the sky a bright orange color which reflected off the ocean beautifully. The girls walked along the beach and stared at the water, hardly speaking except to make observations that were acknowledged, but not expanded upon by the other person. Finally, Jana spoke up about something she hoped they could talk out. "You know, Jasmine? You've taught me something."

"What's that?"

The words took a moment to come out, due to having to be thought out. "When I first met you, you were, how do I put it?"

"A wreck?" Jasmine supplied.

Jana laughed. "You know, yeah, that about sums it up. And the thing is, everybody knew you were fucked up about it, too. And they understood."

"Except that red-head who fought me right after you did. He was pissed at me."

"Yeah well, Nicholas is a dickhole." Jasmine laughed and encouraged Jana to continue. "Right. Well, that made me think that you were kind of a push-over all the time, but when we fought, you nearly tore my team down. It was incredible, watching someone who was crying her eyes out a day ago laughing as she did something she loved to do.

"And then today, you, well, you look gorgeous! And beautiful, and stunning and all those things." With each new adjective Jana supplied, Jasmine's blush grew slightly, though Jana didn't notice. "So, like I said, you've taught me something. You're such a strong, beautiful, caring girl, but you're not afraid to show weakness."

"You mean, like crying and shit?"

Jana laughed softly. "Yeah, crying and shit. I always thought that in order to be taken seriously, I would have to come off as strong all the time never give an inch when things try to tear me down, but I see that that doesn't really matter. Everyone in this city thinks you're great, and when you were cooped up in that tower crying your eyes out, nobody judged you or thought any less of you."

Jasmine nodded. "I see, but the thing is, people did judge me."

Jana gasped. "Who?"

"Well, like we said, that Nicholas kid judged me pretty harshly, and I'm sure someone out there did too. What I've learned in my time as gym leader is that you can't let how others perceive you change you." Jasmine kicked at the sand as she said this. "If you spend too much time trying to get everyone to like you, you won't like yourself, and that's the most important thing. As long as you're proud of yourself, fuck what everyone else thinks."

"That makes sense." Jana pondered this advice as the last bits of the sun disappeared, ushering in the dark night. A few moments passed with no sounds but the water lapping against the shore and a stray call from a straggling bird Pokémon. Finally, Jana was the one to break the silence again. "Jasmine?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you just said that kind of thing doesn't matter, but I like you." A shaky, nervous hand reached out and timidly grasped the one belonging to the other person.

Jasmine giggled and squeezed her hand back. "I really like you too, Jana."

* * *

Gary entered the padded room he knew all too well. He nodded greetings to the Pokémon inside and the Growlithe happily jumped into his arms, eager to get a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ear. "Alexis?" The girl in the straightjacket stirred slightly, actually acknowledging that she was being addressed. This brought a smile to Gary's face and a tear to his eye. "Alexis, I have some bad news for you. Well, it's bad for me. You'll probably get a good chuckle out of it. Remember how I came in here and gloated about becoming the champion? Well, I'm not the Champ anymore. Remember that Jana girl I brought in? Yeah, she beat me."

A moment of silence passed, and Gary was starting to think that would be the end of that. He made the decision to leave, but before he could act on it, the girl emitted a strange sound. It was something he hadn't heard the girl do in three long, hopeless years.

Alexis was laughing at him.

"Looks like you need to step it up, huh?" She croaked her words, as if she wasn't accustomed to speaking, which she wasn't.

Gary grinned. "Well, gym leader of Viridian City ain't half bad, is it?" Alexis chuckled and Gary put the Growlithe in his arms down before reaching into his pocket producing something he had shown her so long ago. "Remember this thing I showed off?" He waved the gold medal around and Alexis slowly shook her head. "Well, I don't blame you. Anyway, I don't need it any more." He knelt down in front of his childhood friend and placed the medal around her neck. "I think it will look better on you anyway."

"But..." Alexis' words came slowly. "I'm not the Champion. I wasn't...strong enough."

Gary shook his head. "You are so strong, Alexis. You deserve this medal a million times more than I ever did."

Alexis' eyes started watering. "Thank you." Gary took her into a hug and they cried together for a while.

"Alexis?"

"Yeah...?"

"I love you."

"...I know."

"You ruined it."

"I know."

* * *

A week after her fateful date, Jana stepped foot in Pallet Town to start her trek through Kanto. Her first order of business was to visit Professor Oak and gloat about kicking his grandson's ass. He gave her a jolly laugh and a pat on the back. "See, I told you that I know my stuff when it comes to picking out future Champs. Was Gary disappointed to have lost?"

Jana laughed. "Oh man, he was devastated." The two shared a laugh before Professor Oak gave Jana an offer she couldn't refuse. She walked out of that lab cradling a Squirtle in her arms, leaving with promises to take care of her new Pokémon, though it was doubtful that she would ever see a place on her team proper.

Then, in Viridian City, Gary refused to battle Jana again until she had won the other seven Kanto badges. Jana's adventures through Kanto began with the promise of bi-weekly calls to her new girlfriend and her mother. The only thing that interrupted her on her way was the wedding that she was kind of obligated to attend, as she was the daughter of both the bride and the groom. It was all very beautiful, and people cried (even Jana, but only a little bit!) but it was only getting in the way of her triumph over the Kanto leaders, who proved to be no big challenge at all. Along the way, Jana ran into Nicholas, who challenged her to one last battle, before disappearing from her life, only to enter it again on occasion to fruitlessly try to get at her Champion title.

It took no time at all to get all eight Kanto badges, and then, Jana kicked back, relaxed, and enjoyed the fruits of her labor and the luxuries—and duties—of being the champion of two regions. She had surprisingly little to do, which left a lot of time for further dates with Jasmine and plenty of visits home to make sure Lance wasn't fucking anything up too much. Luckily for him, Jana found his treatment of her mother satisfactory, so he could stay.

For now.

One night, Jana had trouble sleeping. She couldn't explain why, but nothing she did helped her fall asleep any easier, and it ended with her taking a moonlit stroll through Cerulean City. Why Cerulean? She didn't know herself, actually. Something just told her that that was where she wanted to be. At one point, she managed to spot a cave across a small stream. The hills on the outskirts of Cerulean had a hole in them, and it emanated a power that scared and intrigued her. She made the decision to ignore it, but the cave didn't seem to enjoy that, as the second she started to walk away...

"_**JANA."**_

She froze in place. The voice she had heard in her coma was shouting at her. The first voice. The one that definitely did not belong to Casey. The impossibly loud, earth-shaking voice of something immensely powerful. Whatever spoke to her when she fell off the radio tower was reaching out to her from that cave.

A few hours of spelunking brought Jana to the deepest part of the cave, where the source of the voice finally made itself known. Before her stood a tall, pale-purple Pokémon with a long tail and an overwhelmingly powerful glow about it. It was a Pokémon that Jana recognized. "Mewtwo? You're that voice in my head?"

The Pokémon nodded. Suddenly, Jana's head was filled with visions, telepathically implanted by the legendary Pokémon. Visions of Mewtwo and Casey using Recover on Jana as her lifeless body lay limp in Scizor's arms. "So it was true. You saved me, but why?" More visions flooded her mind of Giovanni harshly training Mewtwo in an unfamiliar region. She could feel the seething hatred Mewtwo felt for the trainer as he forced it to mega evolve and do whatever he commanded. That damn Master Ball having trapped it against its will. Were all humans like this? Was this all there was to them? The evil pursuit of power? "So, you're trying to tell me that you think I'm a better trainer than Giovanni could ever be."

Mewtwo nodded its head.

"So, do you want to come with me? I won't force you to do anything, I promise."

Mewtwo again nodded its head. Despite the confirmation, it took a battle stance.

"Oh, obviously you're not going without a fight." Jana grabbed a PokéBall from her belt. "Let's do this shit!"

* * *

DEAR JOURNAL,

"Today marks a whole year since I was inducted into the Johto Hall of Fame. Isn't that bizarre? It feels like Just yesterday I was leaving New Bark and shit. Anyway, I should tell you about how everyone's grown!

"Feraligatr is still my closest friend who's not a person. I really feel like I can talk to her, even if she doesn't speak the same language I do. She's also crazy strong, obviously. Nidoqueen is still struggling a little bit, but that's okay! Not everyone can be as awesome as me. She does try her best though, and when she loses, it only makes her want to be better I think, so props to her! Casey got some special training under a certain very special Pokémon and now she can hold entire conversations with me in my head! She even does it during battle. It's so cool. She's also super strong because of that, which is awesome. At least she hasn't missed with Future Sight yet!

"As for Scizor, he can mega evolve now too! Dad went ahead and got me a Scizorite and now whenever Aerodactyl doesn't do it, Scizor does! He gets chainsaws for hands and becomes even more powerful! He's such a powerhouse. It's awesome. Houndoom is still working at getting over his anger issues, but he shows more progress every day. Nidoqueen helps him out, since she knows what it's like to lose. She shows him how to channel his anger into determination to do better, which is good I think. Aerodactyl is probably my strongest Pokémon, and she isn't showing any signs of slowing. Its so much fun watching her decimate entire teams that it's easy to forget that those challengers aren't just lining up their Pokémon to get torn down.

"Now, recently, I've actually started putting Blastoise into battles against challengers, which usually ends well. Blastoise has a way to go until she's on Feraligatr's level, but she's getting there! Dad said he'd try to get his hands on her mega stone for me. Here's hoping.

"I should probably mention my eighth Pokémon, huh? Well, Mewtwo's awesome as always. I would never use it against a challenger, of course. That would be rude. It does like to watch the battles, though. I think they excite it. Sometimes it'll even challenge me to further battles, and every time it gets better and better. I don't know how it does it!

"Enough about them, though. I'm sure you want to hear more about how I'm doing, huh? You are my Journal after all. Anyway, being Champion is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Every battle against a challenger is the new best battle ever, and it's always so exciting! Dad and Gary will come back in to try to reclaim the title every once in a while, but they always lose, obviously.

"I'm glad I was able to make it this far, but I don't think I could have done it on my own. I have so many people to thank for this. Mom, Jasmine, Gary, Alexis, Dad, Nicholas (sort of). I think that, without even one of them, everything would have ended up being very, very different. Don't tell them I said this, but I'm thankful to them every day.

"Except Nicholas, he kinda sucks still.

"...While I'm sharing secrets, I should say I have a confession. I uh, never was sure about how far I'd get. When I left New Bark, I honestly didn't think I'd actually ever make it this far, but here I am! In a little over a year, I went from some nobody from New Bark to the Champion and hero of Johto! Isn't that amazing to think about? I saved the world! Sort of. Talk about faking it 'till you make it. I also knocked some sense into my estranged father and, of course, I can't forget that I got a girlfriend too. Speaking of Jasmine, she's doing great and I swear she gets prettier by the day.

"Also, life update on my dad. He's still with my mom, which wouldn't be that big of a deal, but only a week ago, she had a baby! I'm not an only child any more, which is cool and all, but dad was there through the whole thing and he's never shown any signs of running away again! I'm so proud of how far he's come. ...Again, don't tell him I said that. My little sibling's gonna know who his father is all his life! Isn't that awesome? It was such a big deal that I took a few days off to see the little baby myself. And the new brother.

"Anyway, that's about it for today. And this year. And...you, it seems. You're running a bit low on pages there, friend. Maybe I shouldn't have drawn so many big pictures in here. But that's okay. You've been a good Journal to me, and I'm glad you could be here for my rise to the top! I'll be sure to catch Journal 2 up to the chase nice and good. Maybe I'll be a better artist in that one! It's been real, Journal. See ya later.

"END OF YEAR 1"

* * *

Jana closed her old, beaten journal and sighed. She hadn't planned on ending that entry so soon. She could have written novels about how her and Jasmine had been doing. Finally, she shrugged. "Oh well. That'll have to wait for the next one." She carefully placed the book back in her bag. That little book held the chronicles of the most exciting events in her life and would be looked back on fondly in her downtime.

Until then, though, she had to look to the future for her next big adventure.


End file.
